Simon Mapletoft on the AWC: Stable Tours – Mick Appleby

Second in the trainers’ championship to Mark Johnston and Charlie Appleby in the last two seasons, the Newark handler has assembled a typically strong team.

Fibresand specialist Mick Appleby is anticipating another productive winter that could see him dividing his time between the All-Weather Championships and the Dubai Carnival in Meydan. The Newark handler has ambitious plans for some of his stable stars including Pearl Nation, who will have a ‘prep’ run at Southwell in mid-December before flying out to the Middle East.

Pearl Nation has been given a summer break in the hope that he will prove just as effective on the new dirt track in Meydan as he is on the Fibresand at his local course. The six-year-old defeated subsequent Mile Champion Grey Mirage in the first of two seven-furlong wins at Southwell last winter, and proved himself on the Tapeta with a success at Wolverhampton in between. Pearl Nation found the All-Weather track at Jagersro in Sweden too fast when stepping into Group company in May but looks worth his lofty rating of 104.

Ayr Gold Cup runner-up Poyle Vinnie could also take his chance in Dubai in the New Year following a productive season on turf. Also rating 100-plus, the powerhouse sprinter also showed an aptitude for Fibresand last winter but will find opportunities limited unless he tries his luck elsewhere.

Runner-up in each of the previous two trainers’ championships, the former jockey also has one eye on Dubai with the much-improved Shipyard, a gelding by Pivotal whose style of racing may also be suited to the dirt – and Fibresand. The six-year-old supplemented his win in the consolation Great St Wilfrid by taking another hot handicap at Ascot and “looks the sort to go well on those surfaces. He could be on a good mark at home but will need to win again to get an invitation to the Carnival,” he adds.