Time To Turn puts his name in the hat for big-race targets

Charlie Appleby has big-race ambitions for Time To Turn following his narrow victory in the Flexjet Pat Eddery Stakes at Ascot.

The Moulton Paddocks handler had saddled four of the last six winners of the Listed contest and the William Buick-ridden Time To Turn was a 13-8 favourite to add to his tally off the back of a 10-length romp at Wolverhampton.

The Dark Angel colt had been narrowly denied by the reopposing A Bit Of Spirit on his penultimate start at Newbury, but having displayed a smart change of gear to grab the lead in this rematch, he knuckled down as the post loomed to see off the determined challenge of his old foe by a head.

Speaking away from the track, Appleby said: “Obviously pleased with that, as everyone could see it was was a slowly-run race there and unfortunately when they race apart like that at the finish it makes it a little bit trickier for both parties.

“But we were pleased with our horse, it was always the intention to drop him in today and hopefully see that turn of foot which we saw.”

While Appleby will not rush Time To Turn back to the racecourse, he is considering a step up to Group One level in the autumn, with the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere on Arc weekend at ParisLongchamp identified as a potential target.

“Going forward, I’ll probably give him a bit of a break now. For one of ours to have run four times by this stage of his career is a bit more than normal, so he’ll get a bit of a break and I do feel he’ll appreciate some give in the ground,” Appleby added.

“Whether we decide to look at jumping straight into the top level in a Lagardere or something like that possibly, or if we just stay closer to home and look at something like the Somerville (Tattersall) Stakes (at Newmarket), we’ll see.”