'He looks the one they all have to beat' - in-form Charlie Appleby confident exciting Al Hudaiba can add to Godolphin revival

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Al Hudaiba overcame signs of extreme greenness and the persistent challenge of Coolmore's Abraham Lincoln to score in the Group 2 Superlative Stakes at Newmarket, a race trainer Charlie Appleby has won with future Godolphin stars Quorto and Native Trail. 

Appleby has elected to go in search of extra experience before tackling Group 1 company with a colt who has shown a couple of quirks – the son of Dark Angel jinked twice in the final furlong at Newmarket, having unseated Tom Marquand on a previous start at Yarmouth – and faces another highly touted two-year-old from the Aidan O'Brien camp in Haffner. 

"Al Hudaiba has come out of the July festival in good order," said Appleby. "We thought about going straight on to the Vincent O’Brien National Stakes, but Zavateri won the Superlative and Vintage last season before winning in Ireland. 

“He has progressed since the Superlative and we are happy giving weight to the field. We are applying blinkers as we know he can be a bit wayward, and he has worn them at home without any issue. The track at Goodwood should hopefully suit, and he looks the one they all have to beat."

The market makes it a likely match between Al Hudaiba and Haffner, but both Dr Rascal and Undiscovered are unbeaten in two starts, while Pikachu was third in the Superlative, and the Joseph O'Brien-trained Ruler's Control deserves plenty of respect. 

Should Al Hudaiba successfully defy a 3lb penalty to this field, he will surely add to his reputation in the process. 

Harry Wilson's analysis: Appleby hitting form at the right time

Much has been made about Charlie Appleby’s form this summer but the yard has definitely turned a corner in recent weeks.

Charlie Appleby's string has turned a corner in recent weeks Credit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)

Seven winners in Britain in May and six last month represented historic lows since Appleby sent out his first runners in July 2013, but the yard has already sent out 13 winners (36 per cent strike-rate) this month. Four of those came from just seven runners last week.

Appleby has taken quite a selective approach when it comes to the Vintage Stakes, with two winners, a second and two thirds from five runners in the last decade, and there is a sense that Al Hudaiba could well follow in the footsteps of stablemate Pinatubo, who won this in 2019 before landing two Group 1s.

Pinatubo was unbeaten and arrived at Goodwood with a Racing Post Rating of 113 following an impressive victory in the Chesham Stakes at Royal Ascot and Al Hudaiba isn’t far off that standard, having achieved an RPR of 109 when getting the better of Abraham Lincoln in the Superlative Stakes at Newmarket’s July festival. He’s also arguably unlucky not to be unbeaten, having jinked right and unseated his jockey at Yarmouth in May.

Pinatubo proved a class apart in the 2019 Vintage StakesCredit: Edward Whitaker

Al Hudaiba’s quirks were evident again at Newmarket, and Appleby is reaching for first-time blinkers. He’s 15-54 (27.8 per cent strike-rate) with that headgear, and backing all of those blind would have yielded a profit of £5.30.

There was certainly nothing wrong with his attitude in the closing stages of the Superlative and he’s undoubtedly one of the most exciting juveniles in training. I’m expecting big things from him in the future, and he should be capable of taking this en route.

What they say

Oliver Cole, trainer of Dr Rascal
He's a neat horse, strong and fast, and he's very well balanced. I think he did very well to win at Ascot when he got loose beforehand. His heart would have been pumping before the stalls, but his talent got him across the line first. He's training well and has improved since that race, so we're really looking forward to watching him go.

Dr Rascal and Kaiya Fraser were well on top at Ascot over seven furlongsCredit: Steve Bardens (Getty Images)

Aidan O'Brien, trainer of Haffner
He's had the two runs under his belt so he has the right sort of profile for the Vintage. He ran well in a maiden at the Curragh the first day and took a nice step forward to win at Newmarket. He's an off-handed colt [who leads with his right fore leg] who went forward at Newmarket, so I'd imagine Goodwood should suit him. He's a nice colt, and he's progressing lovely.

Ralph Beckett, trainer of Undiscovered
He's a smashing horse. It's a big step up but he's a well-balanced horse who took a step forward at Salisbury last time. We think he's taken a step forward again and expect the track to be fine for him.

Reporting by Scott Burton

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