Saturday Horse Racing – Going Wild With Two Appleby Picks

by Roy Brindley, 11 August 2023

Charlie Appleby has runners in top-drawer races all over the globe this weekend. In America, the trainer is represented by Silver Knott in the £250,000 to-the-winner Secretariat Stakes. New London will attempt to give Godolphin’s private trainer a second success in Germany’s Grosser Preis von Berlin on Sunday.

King Of Conquest (blue) registered his fifth career victory at Goodwood in May. His winning ways might not be over just yet. ©GettyImages

Domestically, Appleby has strong chances of Group-3 success in Haydock’s Rose of Lancashire Stakes and Newmarket’s Sweet Solera Stakes. It is his representatives in these two contests where we are pinning our nap and next best hopes.

King of Conquest, his Betfred Rose of Lancashire Stakes representative, has an improving profile and garnered a four-race winning sequence – stretching from Wolverhampton to Bahrain – earlier in the year.

The winning run ended in a Listed contest at Ascot in June, but the gelding was given too much to do, and he was an eye-catching fast finisher. With winning form on Saturday’s predicted good-to-soft going, King of Conquest can continue his upward form trajectory and is a strong fancy.

Why We Are Wild About Buick’s Filly

At the beginning of July, Wild Goddess was well-backed on her Haydock debut in a maiden race that saw many top stables represented. She failed to fire there, but two weeks later, she set the record straight when scoring at Newmarket by a comfortable four lengths.

Every one of Wild Goddess’ seven opponents in the Sweet Solera has won a race, and, like her, they have all been beaten at least once. It is noteworthy that Wild Goddess’ market rivals arrive here on the back of a defeat.

With her last-time-out Newmarket victory so visibly striking, a further step forward is predicted. Interestingly, William Buick has elected to ride her again, and he could have easily taken rides at other meetings.

Bucanero Can Rise in Phoenix Feature

Aidan O’Brien was responsible for half of the 12 early entries in the Curragh’s six-furlong Keeneland Phoenix Stakes. As usual, his stable is brimming with regally bred juveniles, and he is seeking an 18th success in this contest.

The trainer’s hopes now rest with two of the seven runners that will go to post at 4.40 pm. His Majesty and Unquestionable represent his yard, and the latter appears the best on the form. The youngster has made three appearances at the County Kildare racecourse and was most recently beaten by a short-head in the Group-2 Railway Stakes.

What a start to Irish Derby Day! Bucanero Fuerte just edges out Unquestionable at the line. @Rossaryan1 taking the win for @AMurrayRacing pic.twitter.com/d0RW0E6zy2

— Horse Racing Ireland (@HRIRacing) July 2, 2023

His conqueror that day, Bucanero Fuerte, is in opposition once again. They served up a thrilling finish when pulling clear of the field, and the tenacity displayed by Bucanero Fuerte makes him our choice six weeks later.

Beaten a length in Royal Ascot’s Coventry Stakes, Bucanero Fuerte represents the small Adrian Murray stables that have had just three winners from 81 Irish runners in 2023. Consequently, this son of Wooton Bassett may go off at odds greater than his genuine chances – let us hope so!

Shergar Cup a Non-Runner for Us

There will be fun and games at Ascot, where the annual Shergar Cup team event takes place on Saturday. From a betting viewpoint, the meeting’s six ultra-competitive 12-runner handicaps make little appeal. In fact, the only dark horses are the jockeys! One Shergar Cup contender, Bauyrzhan Murzabayev, is a new name to British racegoers. The ‘Team Europe’ contender has an interesting CV that suggests he should be fun to watch. Born in Kazakhstan – where he raced for 13 years from the age of seven – Murzabayev moved to the Czech Republic in 2013 and was champion jockey there three times.

The 30-year-old then relocated to Germany, where he has been the champion jockey for the past four seasons. 2022 brought Murzabayev Group-1 success in Japan and also in Germany, where he landed the Group-1 German Derby.

Specialist horse racing betting sites will have Shergar Cup betting markets on the winning team and the top jockey – who will receive the Alistair Haggis Silver Saddle trophy. For fun stakes, Murzabayev might be worth a small play.

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