Appleby staying low-key with Fortitudine despite show-stopping debut

Charlie Appleby will not be making any grand plans for Fortitudine just yet after the full-brother to Rebel’s Romance made a sparkling debut at Kempton on Wednesday evening.

The Moulton Paddocks handler called time on the career of his globetrotting superstar Rebel’s Romance just last month after he claimed a 22nd career victory in the Princess of Wales’s Stakes at Newmarket.

The eight-year-old won nine Group Ones in various corners of the globe and amassed over £12million in win and place prize-money.

Fortitudine, unraced as a juvenile and already gelded, made his racecourse introduction in a low-key novice event on the all-weather and Appleby admitted to being taken aback by the manner of his 21-length demolition job in the hands of James Doyle.

“I have to be honest, it surprised us all. He’s a full-brother to Rebel’s Romance, so he’s got the pedigree there to do it,” the trainer told Racing TV.

“He’d be half the size of Rebel’s Romance and his work hadn’t got you too excited, with his pedigree we just had to let him out and run and James gave him a nice ride, kept it simple and kept the revs up and take nothing away from him – he went and galloped them into the ground.

“We’ll place him in a novice in the first week of October and work it out from there, but he’s going to be a next year horse – you’d want him to get a bit stronger looking.”

Appleby was speaking after seeing Cerro Blanco get back on the winning trail at extremely short odds on the July course.

A winner on his debut at the Craven meeting in April, the Wootton Bassett colt was then second Saber Strike in the King Charles II Stakes back on the Rowley Mile and had not been seen in competitive action since.

He was a 1-25 favourite for his return in the the Knight Frank Cambridge Connections Novice Stakes and eased seven lengths clear under Billy Loughnane.

Appleby said: “It’s what we expected to see to be brutally honest. The ground is quick enough and Billy said he was feeling it, so he’ll wait until the autumn now for a bit of juice.

“He’s obviously not been seen out since the spring so it’s nice to get another bit of experience into him and another gallop.

“I’m just thinking off the top of my head you’ve got the Park Stakes at Doncaster, something like that might just fall into place for him.”