Godolphin team are well represented in Canada on Saturday.
Naval Power headlines a robust contingent from Charlie Appleby this weekend as he prepares for the Woodbine Mile in Canada. His regular partner, William Buick, along with Oisin Murphy—who is travelling to ride New Century for Andrew Balding—are both absent from races at Doncaster and Leopardstown on Saturday, but will return to compete at the Curragh on Sunday.
Naval Power comes into the race after finishing as the runner-up in two American Grade One events during the spring. “The Woodbine Mile is a competitive race, but Naval Power is a horse who has had a bit of a break and performed well at Churchill Downs, where he was narrowly beaten by Program Trading in a very good effort. Everything should suit him at Woodbine,” Buick noted.
Competing against Naval Power is last year’s impressive Queen Elizabeth II Stakes winner, Big Rock, trained by Maurizio Guarnieri. “Big Rock is improving. He had a tough season last year, but a lighter schedule this year has really helped him. Any rain would be a positive for us,” the trainer commented.
In the E.P. Taylor Stakes, Appleby and Buick will saddle Cinderella's Dream, a filly who has only lost once in seven starts—during the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket. “She’s done very well in America and arrives in good form,” Buick said of the promising contender.
🤩 NEW CENTURY LANDS THE STONEHENGE STAKES 🤩
NEW CENTURY – a 2yo son of our G1 2000 Guineas hero & now @Tweenhills stallion 🐢 KAMEKO – relishes the step up to 1m & shows a fierce attitude to win the Listed @BritishEBF Stonehenge Stakes 🏆
The first of many Stakes winners for… pic.twitter.com/1JcXh9yRqG
— Qatar Racing (@Qatar_Racing) August 14, 2024
Appleby also enters Al Qudra in the Grade One Summer Stakes for two-year-olds. Al Qudra will face Balding’s recent Stonehenge Stakes winner, New Century, again after their encounter at Ascot in July.
Balding shared his thoughts on New Century's journey to Canada: “He’s arrived well. It’s a long trip, but he has the right attitude and constitution for travel, so hopefully he’ll bring his 'A' game to Woodbine on Saturday. I believe the turning mile will suit him well. Al Qudra was very impressive at Ascot, but we have an extra furlong this time. The small field and falsely run race there weren’t ideal, so we’re hoping for a truly run mile this time, which will be to our advantage. He’s learned and improved with each run, and I felt the Stonehenge was a particularly good performance considering he had to make the running in a small field, which isn’t always easy. The form has been well franked by Luther.”
