Clean sweep has Charlie Appleby dreaming of the Triple Crown after Desert Flower completed astounding weekend for Godolphin

Daily Mail​

04-05-2025

Desert Flower completed an astounding weekend for Godolphin and left trainer Charlie Appleby pondering the potential to make history this summer.
Godolphin, the venture of Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed, are synonymous with winning big races but they have never hit the jackpot quite like this. Desert Flower was superb in the Betfred 1000 Guineas, supplementing a brilliant display from stablemate Ruling Court in the 2000 Guineas.
For good measure, Cinderella's Dream took the Dahlia Stakes on Sunday's Newmarket card. That came on the back of Sovereignty giving Godolphin their first triumph in Saturday's Kentucky Derby and Good Cheer taking the Kentucky Oaks on Friday night; both horses are trained in America.
Appleby, not surprisingly, was overjoyed with what he had seen. He was the first trainer to do the Guineas double since Aidan O'Brien in 2019 and Paddy Power slashed Desert Flower's odds for the Oaks, which has been nominated as her next target, into 5/2 from 7/1.
Ruling Court is also 4/1 second favourite for the Derby and, if either were successful, it would open up the prospect of having an attempt at the Triple Crown. Sponsors Betfred have offered a £2million bonus if a horse wins at Newmarket, Epsom and finishes by winning Doncaster's St Leger.
Appleby said: 'Dreams are free, aren't they? You have got to dream and you have got to be forward thinking. What do they say? Think big. What we (Godolphin) have done this weekend is historic. You get a lot of pleasure from it and it encourages you to try again.'
There is no question Appleby will aim Desert Flower at Epsom. She had been the subject of sustained support and was sent-off the evens favourite; those who took cramped odds never had a moment's concern as she made all and fended off the Ollie Sangster-pair Flight (28/1) and Simmering (33/1).
'There have been very strong vibes coming out of the Godolphin team for weeks now so to push her close like that is a real feather in the cap for both our fillies,' said Sangster, who has only been training for three years. 'I don't know whether to be happy or disappointed – we were so close.'
It took jockey William Buick an eternity to pull Desert Flower up and she showed all the exuberance that had been evident in a breathtaking racecourse gallop at Newmarket 18 days earlier; she is now unbeaten in five races and it will take a huge effort to stop her following up at Epsom.
Such was Buick's delight when he came back to meet Godolphin's stable lads, he stood out of his irons and roared 'Awesome! Awesome!' – it was going to take a lot for Buick, an ardent Liverpool fan, to get a bigger kick than seeing his team win the Premier League but this eclipsed it for him.
'I'm a very happy man,' Buick said. 'This means the world. What a weekend for Godolphin, his highness Sheikh Mohammed and Dubai. It's unbelievable. She's incredible. She's very uncomplicated and she keeps galloping. She's all class.'
Oh So Sharp, in 1985, was the last filly to win do the treble of 1000 Guineas Oaks and St Leger, while Nijinsky, in 1970, remains the last colt to have done the colt's treble of 2000 Guineas, Derby and St Leger. The last horse to attempt the unique feat was Camelot in 2012; he was beaten at Doncaster.
'What we have done this weekend is remarkable,' said Appleby. 'I was not surprised by what I saw from Desert Flower. I knew when she got to "the dip" that she would eat the hill in front of her and that's what she has done. Once she goes through the gears, she is away.
'I see no reason why she won't get further and I see no reason why we won't go to Epsom. It's something nice to think about and we will discuss it all as a team. For the moment, I just want to go and have a nice, relaxing drink!'