By Brian Sheerin
Charlie Appleby has revealed that the sole reason behind the 2021 Irish Derby and St Leger hero Hurricane Lane (Ire) (Frankel {GB}) staying in training as a five-year-old is to have a crack at winning the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe.
Hurricane Lane, who was put through his paces at Newmarket racecourse on Tuesday morning ahead of his seasonal reappearance in the Dubai Duty Free Finest Surprise S. at Newbury on Saturday, was third in the Arc as a three-year-old.
All systems go for Hurricane Lane to run @NewburyRacing on Saturday following a racecourse gallop @NewmarketRace this morning.
Charlie Appleby reveals that he's working backwards from the Arc with the five-year-old. pic.twitter.com/zcdJJF09DF
— TDN (@theTDN) April 18, 2023
After a forgettable four-year-old campaign with the Godolphin colt, Appleby is keen to avoid quick ground with Hurricane Lane this season, with the ultimate goal being the end-of-season highlight at ParisLongchamp.
“The only reason this horse is staying in training is to work back from an Arc,” Appleby said. “And if we are to do so, I just want to make sure we tick all the right boxes for him to get there and give him the best opportunity to get there.”
He added, “I don't want to be in mid-season running him on ground that doesn't suit then all of a sudden telling myself I made a mistake. I don't want to make a mistake with him because, genuinely, I think he's an Arc horse.”
Hurricane Lane in full flight | Emma Berry
Hurricane Lane can be backed at odds as big as 33-1 for the Arc and Appleby says he is looking forward to taking the wraps off the horse at Newbury with conditions looking as though they are set to suit.
He said, “I wanted to make sure that when I started him off this year, that I wouldn't be running him unless the ground had the word soft in the description because I don't want any excuses. If the horse didn't turn up for whatever reason, you'd just have to accept that he did what he did as a three-year-old at the highest level and that was that.
“But, on the evidence of what we have seen from him at home this season–and he let himself down well there this morning–the plan is to take a look at Newbury on Saturday with the conditions looking as though they are there to suit him.”
Appleby also provided an update on Noble Style (GB) (Kingman {GB}), who is set to miss Saturday's Greenham S., with the trainer favouring a racecourse gallop at Newmarket over a run on soft ground at Newbury.
“Noble Style is in great form. I made the entry for Newbury, but I might be giving that a swerve because of the conditions,” Appleby said.
He added, “It's two weeks to the day from that race to the 2,000 Guineas and the question mark over him is the trip. We saw the speed he showed when he won the Gimcrack and that form has held up. Pace is not a worry, it's whether he will see out a mile and that is why I would have liked to have gone to the Greenham and stepped up to seven.
“But if the forecasts are right and it is going to be soft, I'll give it a swerve and give him a racecourse gallop here and go straight into the Guineas.”
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