Appleby keen to add more trophies

INTENT on cramming more trophies into a bulging cabinet, Charlie Appleby hopes to bookend the spring carnival with Group 1 glory at Flemington on Saturday.

Appleby will saddle Blair House in the $2 million Mackinnon Stakes (2000m) and Jungle Cat in the $1 million VRC Sprint Classic (1200m).

With victories already in the Melbourne Cup with Cross Counter and the Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes with Jungle Cat, Appleby has been the most successful of the marauding international trainers.

Sharing the spoils with Saeed bin Suroor (Caulfield Cup with Best Solution and Caulfield Stakes with Benbatl) and Charlie Fellowes (Lexus Stakes with A Prince Of Arran), Appleby will fly his team back to Dubai on Sunday.

But not before a departing tilt at Flemington’s riches, where he hopes to add to his 13 Group 1s internationally this season.

Blair House faces nine rivals in the Mackinnon, including fellow raider and Irish Derby winner Latrobe.

“I’m very confident,” Appleby said of the Caulfield Stakes runner-up.

“He’s come out of that last run well and we purposely skipped the Cox Plate.

“We felt we couldn’t reverse the form there with Benbatl, let alone Winx, so we purposely gave that a swerve so we could go into the Mackinnon with fresh legs. He looks great. I feel that they’ve got us to beat on Saturday.”

Appleby will retire Jungle Cat after taking on the cream of Australian sprinters.

“This is his swan song. He’s been a yard favourite,” he said.

“Obviously his career highlight was winning the Al Quoz, then coming over here to win the Sir Rupert Clarke was a great achievement for him.

“We’re dropping back to six [furlongs] and he’s retiring for a reason — he’s getting a bit older now — and he’s taking on the proper sprinters over here.”