Three Charlie Appleby-trained horses to watch during the 2022 flat season
The 2021 flat season may have only just drawn to a close, with British Champions Day at Ascot in mid-October bringing the curtain down on another fantastic year of action. We are still in that period of reflection, a time to look back at the last six or seven months and evaluate the good and the bad.
However, it is also a great time to look ahead to next year and it’s fair to say that the onus will be on Charlie Appleby again after what was a sensational year for the Godolphin trainer. Leading the trainers’ championship, the Brit won over 15 major races in all four corners of the globe this season and there’s no doubt that many of his prized assets will be leading the way again in the betting markets from sites like Betdaq.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at three horses to watch throughout the course of the 2022 flat racing campaign. Read on to find out more!
Native Trail
Native Trail made a name for himself as one of the best juveniles in the United Kingdom and Ireland during the course of last season. The two-year-old won on his debut in a Maiden Stakes at Sandown and quickly stepped up to Group 2 level — landing a victory in the Superlative Stakes at Newmarket in July.
Native Trail didn’t reappear again until September, winning the Group 1 Goffs Vincent O’Brien National Stakes at the Curragh, and he rounded the season off with another top-grade victory back at Newmarket in the Dewhurst Stakes — the biggest race for juveniles in the British calendar.
Already the favourite for the British and Irish editions of the 2,000 Guineas, the Appleby-trained horse has a huge three-year-old season ahead of him.
Albahr
Another fantastic two-year-old from Godolphin’s esteemed Moulton Paddocks in Newmarket, Albahr had an impressive maiden season. The juvenile was third on his debut in a Maiden Stakes at York, but he was in the winner’s enclosure at Haydock next time out — beating Mark Johnston’s Whitefeathersfall by a neck in a Novice Stakes.
The wins have just kept flowing from there. Frankie Dettori was in the saddle for a second successive Novice Stakes triumph at Haydock before James Doyle took the reins for the listed Stonehenge Stakes at Salisbury. Albahr’s biggest victory of his career thus far came in the Grade 1 Summer Stakes at Woodbine in Canada — where he beat Grafton Steet by little more than two lengths.
The two-year-old was set to compete in the $1m Juvenile Turf at the Breeders’ Cup, but he became restless in the stalls — falling backwards and kicking out before being withdrawn from the race with a few cuts. We have no doubt he will be back next year and one to watch in the more senior one-mile races.
Modern Games
The likes of Creative Force, Adayar, Hurricane Lane and so on seem like obvious Appleby horses to follow next year, so let’s stick with another one of the English trainer’s up-and-coming two-year-olds. It wasn’t the best of starts to his novice season from Modern Games, as he won just one of his first three races, but he kicked on in the latter half of the season.
A Nursery Handicap victory at Doncaster in September was just the beginning of a fine winning streak, as the two-year-old went on to win the Group 3 Tattersalls Stakes at Newmarket — beating the favourite Trident by over two lengths — before going on to win the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf at Del Mar.
Like his stablemate, there was a bit of drama in the stalls for Modern Games. The Appleby-trained horseexited through the front of his stall and was actually led away and declared a non-runner. However, he was reinstated as the stall door was deliberately opened to deal with Albahr and he went on to scoop the $1m prize purse, winning by a length and a half.
