BOY, did Charlie Appleby need that.
It’s been a rotten season for the champion trainer, but his promising two-year-old Aablan eased the pressure at Sandown.
PAAablan (blue silks) maintained his unbeaten record in the Solario Stakes[/caption]
Appleby and Godolphin drew a blank at the big summer festivals at Ascot, Goodwood and York and most of his older stars have been retired.
So he must have been breathing a sigh of relief after the well-bred, unbeaten son of Dubawi got his head in front in the Group 3 Solario Stakes.
He is by no means the finished article, having pulled on his way to post and for the first few furlongs.
And when James Doyle asked him to pick up he took a while to get going, but he managed to catch Inishfallen (22-1) in the final strides with Devil’s Point (4-1) an eye-catching third.
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Aablan (7-4f) was cut into 14-1 from 25s for next month’s Dewhurst Stakes, while he also has an entry in the Champagne Stakes at Doncaster in a fortnight.
Doyle said: “We thought he had a good amount of ability and today was a learning curve.
“He was quite flamboyant and he needs to learn to conserve his energy, but he got into a nice rhythm and he hit the line well.
“Charlie does the race planning so I don’t think they will be in a rush to decide the next target – he is a lively character who takes a bit of handling.”
Earlier on the card, the well-backed Heredia swooped from off the pace to bag the Group 3 Atalanta Stakes under Sean Levey.
Winning trainer Richard Hannon said: “She is a little star. We could go to the Sun Chariot at Newmarket next.”
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