Trainers Charlie Appleby and Richard Hughes captured notable Group races at Newmarket in the United Kingdom at the weekend. Appleby’s Cinderella’s Dream gave Godolphin a first victory in Friday’s Group 1 Falmouth Stakes – a rare contest Sheikh Mohammed’s outfit had not yet won. Hughes posted his first Group 1 winner since he retired from the saddle and took out his trainers’ licence in 2015.
Cinderella’s Dream notched her first G1 success in Europe with a tenacious display under William Buick. Last year’s G1 Belmont Oaks winner captured the G2 Dahlia Stakes on Newmarket’s Rowley Mile course in May and followed up with a second in the G2 Duke Of Cambridge Stakes at Royal Ascot.
Cinderella’s Dream edged towards Aiden O’Brien’s runner, January, as they battled it out inside the final furlong, with the daughter of Shamardal finding plenty to prevail by a half-length. In a reversal of the Duke Of Cambridge Stakes form, Crimson Advocate was almost two lengths further back in third.
Appleby said: “I am delighted with Cinderella’s Dream. After watching it back, I felt she might not have been 100 per cent at Royal Ascot. She was beaten too far out, and I was not happy with the way she travelled. Thankfully, she came out of it fine and the team at home have done a great job. Everyone involved with her said she has been ticking all the boxes over the last 10 days or so.”
Hughes, who employed the services of jockey Neil Callan, went through a rollercoaster of emotions in the minutes after the July Cup – first delight, then shock, and then tears began to flow.
Hughes said: “It’s a very hard game, but this is just fabulous. There were a lot of dark days when I started out. This feels surreal.”
