Distant Storm bidding to give Appleby another Dewhurst

Distant Storm will attempt to give Charlie Appleby back-to-back victories in the Darley Dewhurst Stakes after he headlined the nine declarations for Newmarket’s feature event on Saturday.

Appleby has sent out both Pinatubo (2019) and Native Trail (2021) as well as last year’s hero Shadow Of Light to win Newmarket’s final Group One of the season in recent years and will have high hopes of another successful afternoon on the Rowley Mile.

Distant Storm advertised his top-level claims when bolting up in the Tattersalls Stakes over course and distance last month and will be joined in the race by Moulton Paddocks stablemates Pacific Avenue and Saba Desert, as Appleby assembles a three-strong hand.

Appleby told the Nick Luck Daily podcast: “I went into the Acomb (at York) hoping we were the one to beat, but he’s not the first horse I’ve run there and come away disappointed (subsequent 2000 Guineas winner Ruling Court also finished third). Thankfully he got back on track in the Tattersalls.

“What we saw there was very impressive. They went sensible even fractions, but when they hit the rising ground he picked up very well.

“The Acomb comes early enough in the careers of some horses, some can take it, those two didn’t.

“It’s lovely to have an unbeaten colt, don’t get me wrong, but like a boxer he gets up after being knocked down, I felt he learned a lot from it.

“I was disappointed with Saba Desert in the National Stakes, he never picked up. He came out of the race in fine fettle and we’ve popped cheekpieces on him. Apart from the ground being softer than ideal we had no other excuse.

“Pacific Avenue is there to ensure a good gallop and coming back to seven will suit him. He didn’t see the mile out last time, he deserves to be in the line-up.”

Zavateri will put his unbeaten record to the test in a National Stakes rematch with Gstaad after Eve Johnson Houghton’s youngster successfully went into the lion’s den in Ireland last month

The 35,000 guineas buy will once again lock horns with Aidan O’Brien’s high-class Royal Ascot winner, as well as Ballydoyle stablemate Italy, who was back in third at the Curragh.

Karl Burke’s Alparslan won a valuable sales race on the same afternoon in Ireland and is now pitched into deeper waters, while John and Thady Gosden’s Oxagon and Andrew Balding’s Gewan who finished second and fourth to Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere hero Puerto Rico at Doncaster, complete the line-up.

There are no notable defections from the Club Godolphin Cesarewitch Handicap where Tony Martin’s defending champion Alphonse Le Grande heads the betting from Willie Mullins’ Hipop De Loire and Charles Byrnes’ wide-margin trial winner Reverend Hubert.

The 2023 winner The Shunter, now 12, is also among 21 declarations.