Charlie Appleby landed a seventh Superlative Stakes since 2016 as Al Hudaiba lowered the Coolmore colours of Abraham Lincoln, who won the race with City Of Troy in 2023.
The Dark Angel colt displayed evident ability when a comfortable winner at Newmarket on debut. However, his quirks were apparent when unshipping Tom Marquand late on when looking to win once more at Yarmouth. Zac Lloyd got a fine tune out of him back at Newmarket, barely coming off the bridle.
William Buick rode him for the first time at the weekend, and once more showed signs of rawness. He followed Abraham Lincoln, and despite jinking right, showed a smart turn of foot to get up late. When interviewed after the race, via the Racing Post, William Buick said: “I think he’s just a baby. He’s got plenty of ability and shows that at home.
“I wasn’t sure if I’d won, but I’d have been very cross if we hadn’t. He did well to win. He ducked in behind Ryan’s horse late on, which cost him momentum. So the fact he still got it done is a credit to him. I’m hoping we can iron that out because he’s got a lot of ability. You can definitely upgrade that performance.”
When prompted the question as to the next steps, Buick said: “It’s early days. This race always leads on to races like the National Stakes and the Dewhurst, so we’ll see.
“He’s going to get better with age. The ground is pretty quick out there so maybe he was just feeling that a bit as well.”
“He’s got a lot of talent” – Charlie Appleby
Charlie Appleby won the race for a third time in a row, and was evidently elated with his colts performance.
“He’s got a lot of talent. William said he was happy in the first half of the race and at the three-pole he was wondering how far he was going to win by.
“But then all of a sudden he started shifting underneath him. Staying on him is the hardest part, let alone getting him to gallop out. He does this at home and it’s full credit to those who can stay on.
“He’s one of those horses who finds life very easy, because he’s got that engine. But if he’s now going to start stepping into the bigger leagues, he’ll have to concentrate a bit harder. I hope he’ll grow out of it.”
Charlie Appleby had a successful July meeting with four winners, including another smart two-year-old in Inner City Blues.