Charlie Appleby-trained Derby winner Adayar primed for King George battle with Love at Ascot on Saturday | Racing News

At a time when there seemed to be a golden age of Flat racing in the early 2000s, Godolphin regularly took over Coolmore, and when Love and Adayar clashed on Saturday with King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Kipko, the two the heavy will once again cross the swords.

Although it’s far from a equestrian event – in fact five of the six runners are already the winners of the first group and the only one to make up the difference was Martin Mead of the Eagle Lone, a narrow runner in the Irish Derby – they still dominated the betting. have.

In addition to the sadness, 20 years ago the next superhero Galileo was the last Derby winner to take part in the race, a feat Adayar will try to emulate this weekend.

Adayar is played by Frankel, Galileo’s eldest son, but Galileo defeated Fantastic Light, one of the greatest of all Godolphin era, but it will be Adayar who will be competing this time around with the famous blue silk.

“We always felt like we were going to go to King George 24 hours after the derby because he’s a great individual who needs space between his races and that gives him time to grow,” said coach Charlie Appleby, who is embarrassed by the move. wealth among his three-year-old children.

“It was a fantastic season. Going into the winter, we felt we had a good group of two-year-olds, without having won a Group One, but they had good surnames and were good people.

“We hoped their three-year-olds would progress and they were properly committed. They were in top form all season, starting with the Creative Force, which went through obstacles to win in Jersey and do well in the July Cup.” went forward.

“Then we raced like Hurricane Lane, Adayar and Yibir all in trials. Some won, some ran very well, but thankfully they passed their important tests.”

Most yards wanted to have a runner in the Derby, but if you’re not Aidan O’Brien with a yard full of Galileo’s offspring, the fact that it’s still an achievement. This year Appleby had three.

“One race that everyone wants to win is the Derby, so the main focus is on the spring. We didn’t run after Masar (the 2018 winner) in the Derby. Thankfully, as the years went by, I thought I’d talk about it’s what you need to compete at the highest level. I never want to just build numbers, ”he said.

“This year we felt we had a horse brand that would be competitive, we would definitely go to the trials and His Highness (Sheikh Muhammad) said in the winter to go to Derby and if we thought we had three, we would run three.

“We started the spring with five potential Derby candidates and finished with three and all were very successful, finishing third (Hurricane Lane) and a sixth governor.

“We had a conversation with Sheikh Muhammad before the Derby about running three people and I didn’t run away from it, I felt that one horse that would be appropriate to grow on a trip would be Adayar and he was more of a Saint.Leger horse. .. Mr. Oli said that if he ran healthy and well, you would have to stay in the Derby for one thing.

“Hurricane Lane Dante was victorious, he was Frankel’s invincible son, he was our number one, and thankfully he was white where we thought he was with the Peking order. A governor had a tougher question on the trip. was, but we did it with Masar and he didn’t look anywhere else in the Derby.

“But, a few of the wise elders dreamed of Adayar. He ran in two trials and didn’t make many mistakes. He wasn’t beaten either in length or by the rotation of the earth, he had to be a possible one.”

“He’s a loving giant. You don’t want him to throw his weight around because he’s the eldest son. Josh (Crane) has done a fantastic job of riding since spring. His homework is no different than it was before. To Epsom, he’s a. is a good and honest executioner who covers a lot of land. “

Nowadays, it is rare for a Derby winner to run in King George, although Enleb and Tagore have used the huge age and sex privileges as the Ox winners for John Gosden in recent years, but Appleby has always pointed to the summer show.

“It will be an interesting race, we have discussed with His Majesty the Hurricane Lane after the victory at the Grand Prix de Paris and while it is a cliché, we are sitting on the wall to see what Adayar is doing? see where these classic horses go in the second half of the season, ”Appleby said.

“I’m happy with his willingness to race. There are six runners, there seems to be speed and if you want to go deeper, love is a worthy favorite. We are the second favorite and with the help, I think i think the market is right.Love should be a favorite, but we need to hit it off there.

“Whoever gets it, is the king of the mile and a half division for the near future.

“Year after year, we’re always told it wasn’t a classic derby or three-year-olds look weak, but it always separates itself from the Sun afterwards.

“When Masar won, they challenged its power, then the roaring lion came out and defeated Eclipse and Judmonton – I don’t know how sometimes horses do more.

“As it stands at the moment, the Derby looks good. He won by three-and-a-half yards and the third horse came out on top and won the Classic and the Grand Prix de Paris.

“Being a part of these races is fantastic, helping in the production of the day is a great honor and he is my first runner in King George. Most importantly he is not only a runner but also a Derby winner. To win it would be a beautiful feather. , to have in the cap. “

The field is completed by Mishriff John and Teddy Gosden, the steady partner of Brum and David Menzier of Wonderful Tonight.