Arabian Crown passes G3 Classic Trial with flying colours

Arabian Crown laid down a strong marker for this year’s Derby with a dominant victory in the G3 Classic Trial at Sandown Park, UK, on Friday, 26 April.

Making his first start since winning the G3 Zetland Stakes in October, the Dubawi colt was quickly into his stride and led narrowly on the outside of Under The Sun before striding on into a two-length lead after the first half-mile.

Arabian Crown raced away from the inside rail rounding the home bend and continued to travel powerfully in front as the chasing pack attempted to close three furlongs out.

William Buick kicked on just inside the final quarter-mile and Arabian Crown responded well, with the Charlie Appleby-trained three-year-old seeing out the 10-furlong trip strongly to beat Macduff by three and a quarter lengths.

Charlie Appleby said: “We were very pleased with Arabian Crown. William gave him a good ride in using the horse’s experience and, more importantly, making sure that his stamina would come into play.

“We will let the dust settle before deciding whether we take in another trial before the Derby, but it was a very pleasing performance. You would hope that, like last year, he will improve with racing.”

William Buick added: “Charlie was very keen to let Arabian Crown bowl along wherever he was happy. He’s a very straightforward, genuine horse who doesn’t mind a bit of give in the ground. I was very pleased with what he did there. He was a bit fresh in parts of the race, but he had to dig and quicken as well. That was a great trial.

“You would be as confident as you can be about him getting a mile and a half. It will be up to Charlie and the team to decide if he needs more experience. From my perspective, he is very straightforward. He also travels well and has a good cruising speed, which is exactly what you need in a Derby.”