Godolphin’s Appleby clinches International Trainer of the Year for third successive time
Godolphin trainer Charlie Appleby capped a memorable year by winning the International Trainer of the Year title for a third successive time.
Appleby saddled 12 of Godolphin’s 30 international Group 1 winners in 2018, including historic wins at the Epsom Derby with Masar and Melbourne Cup with Cross Counter, as well as Line Of Duty’s triumph in the Breeder’s Cup Juvenile at Churchill Downs.
Masar became the first Godolphin first horse to win the English Classic. while Cross Counter ended the Dubai Racing Operation’s 30-year wait for a Melbourne Cup victory.
Appleby acknowledged 2018 had been an “unbelievable year” and he dedicated his award to Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, and founder of Godolphin. “I have one person to thank for that, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed, whose ambition and passion for our sport is an inspiration to every one of us at Godolphin,” Appleby told the racing operation’s website.
“I am forever grateful to His Highness for having given me the opportunity to train for him. I am also fortunate in having an excellent team at Moulton Paddocks, headed by my assistants Marie Murphy and Alex Merriam. Their skill and dedication, plus the hard work of the entire team, have been major factors in the Godolphin success story this year.”
The International Trainer of the Year award is decided by International Racing Bureau and is awarded to the trainer who made the biggest global impact throughout the year. Appleby won this year’s award ahead of Karl Burke, John Gosden and Godolphin’s other trainer Saeed bin Suroor, who saddled this year’s World Cup winner Thunder Snow.