Middle Park Stakes: Appleby has confidence in Wise Approach

Charlie Appleby said on Monday he has "plenty of confidence" going into the Tattersalls Middle Park Stakes at Newmarket on Saturday with Wise Approach. 

The Mehmas colt will bid to give the Godolphin handler a third win in the Group One, which 11 horses remain in contention for after the Andrew Balding-trained Five Ways, winner of the Group Three Sirenia Stakes at Kempton Park, was supplemented for the race.

After running out the winner of the Listed Rose Bowl Stakes at Newbury on his penultimate start, Wise Approach put up a solid effort in defeat when finishing third on his Group One debut in last month’s Prix Morny at Deauville. 

And on the back of that display Appleby, who won £275,000 contest 12 months ago with Shadow Of Light and in 2014 with Charming Thought, believes his two-time race winner will prove tough to beat, provided conditions are right. 

Appleby said: “If the weather forecast can be right, and it is a sound surface here, we will definitely be taking a strong view of the Middle Park. 

“If there is ease in the ground that would be a question mark, but he has come out of his last race well and is in good order. 

“The form of that race in Deauville has worked out solidly. I know the runner-up from that race, Gstaad, just got beat the other day in Ireland, but he put up a good run in defeat that day and we come here with plenty of confidence.”

Unlike Appleby’s two previous winners of the race, who both only had three runs before tackling the six-furlong prize, Wise Approach has been much busier with five appearances already under his belt. 

However, Appleby believes that has enabled him to learn much more about the horse.

He added: “For one of ours he has been busy enough. He came out early doors and we looked at him being a Royal Ascot horse, and he obviously turned out to be just that. 

“He broke his maiden well at Ascot. We went to York, and he got beat, but the track there can be a challenge for a two-year-old so we put a line through it. 

“We took him to the Royal meeting and he put up a good performance on the far side group behind Charles Darwin in the Norfolk Stakes. 

“We learnt a bit from him there in how to ride him and what sort of horse we were potentially dealing with. 

“We went from there on to Newbury where he won very impressively and the form of that worked out well. 

“A lot of people asked why didn’t we go to the Gimcrack, but at the end of the day we were looking for that sound surface, and the Morny was on quick ground, and it is a six furlong Group One race so we had to take a strong view of it. 

“We went there, and he put up a good solid performance again. I think we learnt a little bit more about the horse.”

In addition Gstaad, O’Brien could also run Brussels, First Approach, Kansas or Champagne Stakes winner Puerto Rico.

Coppull, Havana Hurricane and Hilitany are in the mix while Andrew Balding has supplemented Five Ways.

In the Group Two Tattersalls Online Royal Lodge Stakes, as expected George Boughey has supplemented Bow Echo.

Charlie Johnston’s unbeaten Ancient Egypt, Chesham winner Humidity and seven from O’Brien’s Ballydoyle stable, including Daytona and Endorsement, add plenty of strength in depth.