Appleby Sends Out Legend of Time in Pennine Ridge

For the Godolphin runners trainer Charlie Appleby sends to the United States, the results are no longer automatic.

Go back to 2021, and Appleby’s horses won their Northern American starts at an astonishing 50% clip (nine wins from 18 starts).

The following year, the numbers were eight of 17 for a 47% mark

Yet this year, the journeys from Great Britain to the United States have not been as fruitful with only three victories in 14 tries for a rather human 21% win rate.

The highly regarded European conditioner will try to pump up those numbers May 25 when he sends out Godolphin’s Legend of Time in the $200,000 Pennine Ridge Stakes (G2T) for 3-year-olds at Aqueduct Racetrack.

The mile-and-an-eighth turf stakes serves as a steppingstone to the July 6 Belmont Derby Invitational Stakes (G1T), providing the first three finishers in the field of seven automatic bids to the grade 1 turf stakes. It will also give Godolphin a chance to win another grade 2 in the Big Apple as, after losses by Appleby runners in their first two 2024 New York starts, Silver Knott captured the May 11 Man o’ War Stakes (G2T).

A son of Sea The Stars , Legend of Time made his U.S. debut May 4 at Churchill Downs when he was sent off as a 6-5 favorite and chased the pace in the American Turf Stakes (G2T) but faded to fifth, five lengths behind the victorious 47-1 shot Trikari .

“It was a big learning curve in that first race at Churchill, but he shipped up to Saratoga and settled in here at Greentree really nicely. He’s really settled into a nice rhythm here and we’re very happy with the way he’s going into the race,” said Chris Connett, an assistant trainer for Appleby currently based at Godolphin’s Greentree training center in Saratoga.

In Dubai and Great Britain before that, the colt bred by Lordship Stud and Sunderland Holding won four of five starts but was unplaced in his lone try in a group stakes.

The race will also mark a return to turf for Repole Stable and St. Eilas Stable’s Triple Espresso .

The son of Omaha Beach was fourth in the Jeff Ruby Steaks (G3) on Tapeta last time out for Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher, a three-time winner of the Pennine Ridge. Before that, the 3-year-old was fourth on turf in the Colonel Liam Stakes at Gulfstream Park.

Trainer Chad Brown, another three-time winner of the Pennine Ridge, will send out two maiden winners in Risk Tolerance for Klaravich Stables and White Palomino for James Bakke and Gerald Isbister.

A Kingman colt, Risk Tolerance captured his April 21 debut on Aqueduct’s turf course by three-quarters of a length. White Palomino prevailed in an April 6 maiden race at Keeneland in his second start.

Besilu Stables’ Royal Majesty is exiting an April 13 allowance win at Keeneland. A son of Frankel who started his career overseas, he was fifth two starts back in the Colonel Liam for trainer Bill Mott.

He is out of the Smart Strike mare Crown Queen , a grade 1-winning half sister to Hall of Famer Royal Delta.