Derby contender Arabian Crown shines for Charlie Appleby in Newmarket gallop

The Charlie Appleby-trained three-year-old warmed up for the extended one mile, one furlong Group Three contest on Friday April 26 when participating in the seven-furlong workout on the Rowley Mile under champion jockey William Buick.

Working alongside stablemate King Of Conquest, the son of Dubawi, who signed off last year with victory in the Group Three Zetland Stakes at Newmarket, moved smartly through the exercise before passing the post with a couple of lengths in hand.

Appleby said: “The plan is to go to Sandown for the Classic Trial. He is a past winner there, so we have ticked that box in respect of the track.

"He won the Zetland, and all indications were that stepping up in trip was going to be his forte. He has done very well, as you would expect from a Dubawi, through the winter, and that was a pleasing piece of work visually as King Of Conquest is a decent old yardstick.

“He was a horse that once he met the rising ground was always going to pick up. Once he hit the rising ground it allowed him to stretch out."

With the Classic Trial at Sandown coming early enough in the calendar it gives Appleby the option of potentially getting another run into Arabian Crown before the Derby itself. And while the Godolphin handler has not ruled the prospects of that out he insists that a visit to Epsom Downs before the big day itself for the Betfred Derby Gallops Morning will not be on the cards.

He added: “As we have seen before, if you win at Sandown by a couple of lengths you would probably say that he has booked his slot into the Derby.

"If he just wins, or gets beat finishing placed, we therefore might have to go again. Adayar obviously went on from Sandown to Lingfield to the Derby. There are options you can have if you want to get one more run into him before the Derby.

“Bearing in mind we are going into this race with a horse that has had a few runs as a two year old so we are not going in there with an inexperienced horse. You only take horses to Epsom beforehand that need that experience. Mentally he is pretty stable.

“When you are going around Epsom, unless you are going at a racing pace, cantering around there doesn’t make much difference as you can canter anywhere. It is not until you are going at a racing pace that you learn if they can really handle the track."

Curragh option for Ancient Wisdom

Appleby hinted that stablemate Ancient Wisdom could get his campaign under way in the Irish 2000 Guineas should the ground be too quick for him in the QIPCO 2000 Guineas.

Meeting with defeat just once in five starts last season the son of Dubawi ended his two year old campaign with victory in the Group One Kameko Futurity Trophy Stakes at Doncaster.

He added: “Ancient Wisdom is in good form. He travels sweetly, and does everything very easily, and he is not a horse I need to get a gallop into. We are still not rubber stamped to be coming here for an English 2000 Guineas.

“We saw him win the Kameko Futurity Trophy on bottomless ground, and he is going to want cut in the ground. I don’t want to run him on fast ground on his first start of the season needless to say.

“Far from saying we are working back from an autumn campaign, but he is a horse that I don’t want to start his season off on quick ground in the 2000 Guineas, so I could have to sit and wait for a French or an Irish Guineas.

“An Irish Guineas would be a more logical step forward with him, but he is in great order and he has wintered well."

While Ancient Wisdom will be kept to a mile for the early part of the campaign Appleby admits he could explore options beyond that trip later in the season.

He added: “On pedigree he will get further, but he has got pace. I think stamina came into play at Doncaster so you would say mile and a quarter will be well within his compass, and you would imagine a mile and a half would be as well.

“Until you get them out in their three-year-old careers everything is very much pencil talk really.”

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