EASTER SHOWING SHOW @ BISHOPTON EQUESTRIAN
Saturday 11 April 2026
Entries close TODAY!
3 upcoming events
Next event:
18/04/2026 Working Equitation Clinic Rockwood EC
Find out more ..
(Stock ID: 2036373872)
Charlie Appleby is often more focused on races in the Middle East before the British flat racing season gets underway with the Guineas Festival in May, but he does unleash his fair share of notable runners on the all-weather, recently using the circuit successfully as a prep route for several Classic winners.
For those looking to online bet on the early Flat markets, keeping a close eye on Appleby's winter runners has proven a profitable exercise in recent years. He has been in fine form on home soil too, with six wins from 13 runners at the time of writing.
A Frankel colt who has made an immediate impression, Hidden Force won a novice stakes on debut at Kempton in December before landing the European Road to the Kentucky Derby Conditions Stakes back at the course in February.
That might sound like any Class 3 on the all-weather, but it is a notable contest as far as Appleby is concerned. He has now won it three consecutive times, with Notable Speech and Opera Ballo claiming the two previous renewals before going on to become top-class turf performers.
Hidden Force is 25/1 for the Guineas, with the potential to replicate what Notable Speech did in 2024 when winning at Newmarket on his first start on turf.Distant Storm (16/1, 2000 Guineas)
Distant Storm is currently Appleby's front runner for the 2000 Guineas at 16/1. He raced four times as a juvenile over seven furlongs, winning a maiden at the July Festival on debut and then the Group 3 Tattersalls Stakes in impressive fashion.
He was more lacklustre at York and in the Dewhurst, finishing third and over two lengths behind 25/1 shot Gewan. Appleby reported after the Dewhurst that William Buick felt the colt showed immaturity and would benefit from a winter to develop.
He still sees him as a Guineas horse, and if that assessment proves correct, he remains a fascinating contender at the price.
Palladas made an impression in another low-profile race that Appleby likes to target. A maiden stakes at Kempton in January rarely makes the headlines, but the Godolphin handler has won it seven times since 2021, so when he has a runner in it, it is worth paying attention.
Palladas was this year's winner, scoring by almost three lengths under apprentice jockey Connor Planas. The three-year-old is a 750,000gns Lope De Vega colt, so carries an added weight of expectation. He does not have a Guineas entry, but there is every reason to believe a big season lies ahead.
If you are weighing up each-way options across Appleby's three-year-olds, a betting calculator is a useful tool for working out potential returns at various prices.
A gelding unlikely to trouble the top of Appleby's pecking order, but one with a solid chance of winning his share of races along the way, is Words Of Truth. He had a productive two-year-old campaign, winning three of his six starts, with the standout performance coming in the Group 2 Mill Reef Stakes.
He has since been the beaten favourite twice, finishing third from 11/10 in the British Champions Day Two-Year-Old Conditions Stakes and then failing to justify odds-on at Meydan in the Al Wasl Stakes, where 19/1 outsider Flying Comet beat him by less than a length.
All of his starts to date have come over six furlongs, and a step up to seven seems the logical next move this season. The Jersey Stakes at Royal Ascot looks a natural target.
0 entries £0.00