Charlie Appleby is confident leading Betfred 2000 Guineas contender Shadow Of Light will have no problems seeing out the mile on his return to action in the opening Classic of the season at Newmarket next month.
Last year’s champion two-year-old returned to the scene of his Dewhurst and Middle Park Stakes wins when participating in a racecourse gallop at the Rowley Mile on Tuesday alongside several high-profile stablemates.
Working over seven furlongs under regular rider William Buick, the son of Lope De Vega tracked lead horse Highland Avenue for much of the exercise before moving ahead late on and passing the post with around a length in hand.
Appleby expects the spin to help Shadow Of Light, who is a general 7/1 chance to claim victory in the 2000 Guineas, step forward considerably ahead of his bid for Classic glory on May 3rd.
He said: “I was happy to go and work on that ground this morning as it will pull him forward and tighten him up and do all the things it should do.I was pleased with his work. He has done very well physically. He looks great and his preparation has gone faultlessly. It was always the plan to come here and they were never in line to come for a trial.
“There is the question mark going up to the mile, but we have a lot of confidence in the horse on what we saw on Dewhurst day and what we are seeing as a physical that he will see the mile out.
“That day it was testing ground, and bearing in mind he only won the Middle Park two weeks earlier, and the way the race has panned out Will (Buick) has had to go and win his race on the far side then track across and win a second race in a fashion.
“I gain all my confidence that he will stay the mile from the Dewhurst race, not so much from what we are seeing at home, but he switches off well, and it is not as if he is keen at home. He settles, and he has just got to go that extra furlong now, and I see no reason why he shouldn’t.
“If he does then great it opens up his options for the rest of the summer and if he doesn’t he will be dropping back for a Commonwealth Cup so it is quite simple in that respect. As a horse, and as a physical, we are happy with him and it is all systems go towards the 2000 Guineas.”
Although having won the 2000 Guineas twice before with Coroebus in 2022 and 12 months ago with Notable Speech, the Godolphin handler believes he is dealing with a different model in Shadow Of Light.
Appleby said: “He would be, to a level, a different model to both my two previous 2000 Guineas winners. Notable Speech came in there as that all-weather horse that turned all the corners from the new year onwards. As respects to Coroebus he was an Autumn Stakes winner that looked as though he needed more time physically. This horse is a half-brother to a champion two year old (Earthlight) and he ended up being a champion two year old himself.
“He is naturally a more athletic horse and in the mornings everything has been that much more simple for him whereas the other horses were more slower burners.
But on the flip side to the other two horses we were very confident with as they had been over the mile and to a decent level (before the Guineas).”
Shadow Of Light could be joined in the mile Classic by stablemate Ruling Court, who was also put through his paces this morning over the same course and distance under James Doyle.
The son of Justify made a triumphant return to action last month when running out a decisive winner of the Jumeirah 2000 Guineas at Meydan.
And while Appleby expects Ruling Court to run his race should he line up in the 2000 Guineas he admits he is a horse he is excited about stepping up to a mile and a half in the Betfred Derby at Epsom Downs in June.
Appleby added: “We had planned to originally possibly go to Sandown with him (for the Classic Trial), but once the dust has settled we will decide from our plans what to do. You could go around Sandown, and I don’t want to sound too bullish, but he would take a lot of beating around there, but you wouldn’t learn as much around there as you would in a 2000 Guineas.
“He is in the 2000 Guineas mix for sure as well as Sandown. The way I look at it, and for me, and this is not just my opinion, but the Guineas is one of the best Derby trials anyway.
“We have seen the Derby winner come from here many times and it might be just be a race we look towards being a trial for his Derby. I was very pleased with what we saw from Ruling Court. Of course he was coming into today’s gallop of a racecourse run in Meydan where he was visually very impressive.
“What we saw there this morning, and what we have seen amongst ourselves is that he could be competitive in a 2000 Guineas as well. If you ran him and he finished third or fourth in a 2000 Guineas you would be delighted as you would say he is ready to step up.
“In the 2000 Guineas there is no hiding place as over that straight mile they will go a gallop, but it is not so much I’m worried about it as ultimately we hope he is a Derby horse. As long as this horse has the right experience going into a 2000 Guineas and can lay up and get in a nice rhythm and finish a race off then great as that is what we are looking for.”
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