Charlie Appleby

Charlie Appleby, born on July 5, 1975, has been attached to team Godolphin for over 20 years. Initially, he worked for Sheikh Mohammed as a travelling head lad, stable head lad and assistant trainer before being appointed as a Godolphin trainer in July 2013. It didn’t take long for Appleby to claim his first Group 1 success with Outstrip in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf in November of that year, just one of over 600 winners he has saddled for Godolphin.

His first domestic Group 1 victory came in the 2014 Middle Park Stakes with Charming Thought, while Appleby was also named Dubai World Cup Carnival leading trainer in 2018, having saddled Jungle Cat to Al Quoz Sprint glory and Hawkbill to Dubai Sheema Classic success.

Further 2018 success continued with hugely prestigious Epsom Derby and Melbourne Cup victories (see below), the second of those successes coming just four days after Line of Duty had landed the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf, giving Appleby a second win in the race.

Appleby further proved himself as an outstanding International trainer in 2018 with Group 1 wins in Canada (Natalma Stakes - La Pelosa), Australia (Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes - Jungle Cat), Ireland (National Stakes - Quorto) and France (Prix de l’Opera - Wild Illusion)

Charlie Appleby landed a first British Classic in 2018 with Masar, who swept past the likes of Dee Ex Bee and Saxon Warrior to win the Epsom Derby by 1½ lengths under jockey William Buick. Masar’s two-year-old career had included a Group 3 win in the Solario Stakes at Sandown but he improved on that at three with an impressive success in the Craven Stakes at Newmarket before being beaten into third behind Saxon Warrior in the 2000 Guineas. However, Masar reversed that form with the Ballydoyle hotpot in emphatic style at Epsom a month later. He has not been seen since the Epsom Derby due to a leg injury but was expected to return to racecourse action in 2019.

Appleby has won three Breeders Cup races with Wuheida, Line of Duty and Outstrip while arguably his greatest international success came in 2018 with Cross Counter, who ran down fellow British-trained horse Marmelo to win the Melbourne Cup. That win means Appleby is the only British trainer in history to have won the Group 1 stayers race, held at Flemington Racecourse every November.

Other big winners for Charlie Appleby include:

Prix Marcel Boussac - Wuhieda (2016), Wild Illusion (2017)

Eclipse Stakes - Hawkbill (2016)

Prix Saint-Alary - Sobetsu (2017)

Sydney Cup - Polarisation (2017)

As a key member of the Godolphin team, Charlie Appleby splits his time between Marmoon Stables in Dubai during the winter and returns to his Moulton Paddocks base at Newmarket for the remainder of the year. Horses in residence in Dubai are mainly prepared for the Dubai World Cup Carnival, which takes place at Meydan Racecourse between January and March each year.

The area has a rich history as a centre of equine excellence with several trainers based near Marmoon Stables. Facilities include several American barns, a nine-furlong private dirt track, a grass gallop alongside trotting rings with two equine spas as well as a state-of-the-art equine treadmill.

Back in Newmarket, Moulton Paddocks has been the home of Godolphin since 1994. They too boast several private grass and all-weather gallops as well as a swimming pool. The great but ill-fated Dubai Milennium - a brilliant winner of the Dubai World Cup and the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot in 2000 - was trained at Moulton.

Godolphin use James Doyle and William Buick as retained jockeys in the UK and as a result, they ride the majority of horses for Charlie Appleby. In recent times, Doyle has taken the biggest share of rides for Appleby while Adam Kirby and Brett Doyle have also been used.

Auxerre (4yo): This progressive four-year-old has to be worth noting wherever he shows up. After three consecutive wins as a three-year-old, Auxerre was subject of a monster gamble in the Lincoln at Doncaster on seasonal reappearance and duly bolted up, looking every inch a Group horse in the process. He wasn’t entered for Royal Ascot 2019, but off a mark of 108, a big-field handicap surely will be considered before making the step into Pattern races towards the end of the season.

Pinatubo (2yo): Charlie Appleby wouldn’t be known for his early two-year-old horses but looks to have a real speedster in Pinatubo. Having won very easily on debut at Wolverhampton, he was tried at Epsom in the Woodcote Stakes. Despite being sluggish out of the gates and hanging towards the rail, he still managed to win by a decisive length under James Doyle. With the Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot earmarked as the next target, Pinatubo could be worth siding with throughout the rest of his two-year-old campaign.

Barney Roy (5yo): The 2017 St. James’s Palace winner returned to training after a stunning three-year-old campaign which saw the Group 1 winner claim more than £500,000 in prize money for Godolphin. Previously trained by Richard Hannon, he was sent to stud but proved infertile and returned to racing in May 2019. The son of Excelebration was narrowly beaten on his return at Ascot but then won a Listed race at Longchamp and was due to head to Royal Ascot for the Queen Anne Stakes. Do not rule out Barney Roy for the rest of the season regardless of the result at Royal Ascot.

Blue Point (5yo): Not much needs to be said that hasn’t been already about this outstanding sprinter. A Grade 1 winner at Meydan and Ascot, Blue Point took his total career earnings to over £2 million for the Godolphin team when claiming the Al Quoz Sprint in March 2019. A speedster with no brakes in his early days, the five-year-old is very much a more efficient sprinter these days, having picked up Battaash late in the day to win the King’s Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot in 2018. With another tilt at the Group 1 again, Blue Point could well claim another big prize in the next few months.