Coroebus

NEWMARKET, UK--Dawn hasn't even broken on Thursday morning at Godolphin's Moulton Paddocks and trainer Charlie Appleby is discussing with his lieutenants Marie Murphy and Chris Connett which rugs to pack for his team of seven horses travelling to the Breeders' Cup at Keeneland. "That's 14 crates we're up to now," he says, rolling his eyes and smiling. "Wasn't like that back in the day." Appleby is a lifer when it comes to racing, from his days as a youngster working for Jackie Retter and Susan Piggott, to his role as...

There is a charming tradition for the large crowd at Baden-Baden races to applaud the runners as the field passes the post for the first time, never mind in the closing stages. For Sunday's racegoers, many of whom arrived with well-behaved dogs and sometimes less well-behaved children, the excitement level reached near-fever pitch as Frankie Dettori urged home German racing's current hero, Torquator Tasso (Ger). At the post the pair went down by just a head to the winner Mendocino (Ger), another son of Adlerflug (Ger) ridden by the man...

Baaeed (GB) (Sea The Stars {Ire}) will face a less daunting task in the Qatar Sussex S. at Goodwood on Wednesday after G1 2000 Guineas and G1 St James's Palace S. winner Coroebus (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) was ruled out of the race on Monday after suffering a setback. The pair looked set for a mouthwatering clash with the unbeaten Baaeed having to concede weight to the Classic-winning colt, however, Godolphin broke the news that Coroebus has been forced to sit out the much-anticipated clash due to a minor injury. A...

The first Classics of the year are in the book: four in total, in Britain and Italy. Charlie Appleby sends out major winners with such metronomic regularity that it is easy to forget that there was a time when the Godolphin blue silks were a scarcity in Classic fields.  Having gone so close in last year's 2000 Guineas with Master Of The Seas (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), who was narrowly denied by the Jim Bolger-trained Poetic Flare (Ire) (Dawn Approach {Ire}), Appleby left nothing to chance this year when aiming both...

Dual Derby-winning trainer Charlie Appleby came close to winning last year's QIPCO 2000 Guineas when Master Of The Seas (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) was narrowly beaten by Poetic Flare (Ire) (Dawn Approach {Ire}), and his Godolphin stable appears to hold two aces for the opening Classic of the British season. G3 Craven S. winner Native Trail (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) and Coroebus (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) are currently first and second favourites for the 2000 Guineas ahead of the Aidan O'Brien-trained Luxembourg (Ire) (Camelot {GB}). "William [Buick] sat on Native Trail on...

The betting for the QIPCO 2,000 Guineas suggests that Godolphin has a very strong hand for Europe's early Classics, with Native Trail (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) a solid favourite and Coroebus (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) a clear second pick. However, such strength in depth brings its own complications. The European calendar boasts three principal Guineas races (chronologically, in Great Britain, France and Ireland) and the obvious aspiration when one has the two most likely candidates is to win all three.  It is a tough, albeit not impossible, assignment for one horse alone,...

The G3 Autumn S. winner Coroebus (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}) made all three of his juvenile starts in Newmarket and he returned to the Rowley Mile on Wednesday morning for a racecourse gallop ahead of his intended start in the QIPCO 2000 Guineas. Ridden by William Buick and accompanied in his seven-furlong piece of work by stable-mates King Of Time (Ire) (Kingman {GB}) and Falling Shadow (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), Coroebus pulled easily clear of that duo as he quickened out of the dip. "That was just what we needed really,"...

A horse for 2022: Coroebus (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire})--perhaps Charlie Appleby should run them both in the Free Handicap to see whether Native Trail (GB) (Oasis Dream {GB}) can give him seven pounds. First season or proven: Proven. Speed or stamina: Speed that stretches; most occasions call for a bit of both. Cold beer or vintage Claret: Claret. Newspaper or podcast: I'm easy, so long as it's daily. Royal Ascot or Breeeders' Cup: Breeders' Cup. Rock or classical: Classical. Bright young thing to follow: Alice Haynes (trainer) and Jonathan Harding (journalist)....