Walton Street leads home Godolphin 1-2-3-4 at Meydan

Walton Street came out on top in the concluding 12-furlong turf handicap at Meydan, UAE, on Thursday, 22 February. It was a double on the evening for trainer Charlie Appleby and jockey William Buick following the earlier success of Folkswood in the G3 Dubai Millennium Stakes. 

The four-year-old son of Cape Cross was settled in fourth place in the early stages of the race as Wolf Country (Charlie Appleby/James Doyle) led the 12-strong field. 

Entering the final quarter mile, Walton Street was asked to deliver his challenge and ran on well, taking the lead entering the final furlong. 

He ran on well inside the final furlong to score by two lengths from Eynhallow (Charlie Appleby/Brett Doyle), who stayed on well in the closing stages from a long way off the pace. 

Gold Star (Saeed bin Suroor/Christophe Soumillon) took third, another two and a quarter lengths behind, with a further half-length back to Wolf Country in fourth. 

The winning time was 2m 28.25s on good ground.

Charlie Appleby said: “To be fair to Walton Street, when he started his Carnival career he was very inexperienced with only a few runs back in England.

“He has improved with every run. He has been the bridesmaid here before and it is good that he has got his head in front.  

“He is a horse that has been learning on the job. William was keen to get on him tonight and he was right.

“Eynhallow was flagged up as an eyecatcher following his last run. Brett has given the horse a lovely ride and settled him well. He is horse that I am sure we will be winning races with.”

William Buick added: “It was a real headscratcher to decide who to ride in this race. I rode Walton Street last time out, when he covered a lot of ground, which didn’t really suit him, but still ran very well. 

“You could have also said the same about Eynhallow’s last run, but I went with Walton Street as I had ridden him before and thought he would improve for his last run.

“It was a nice performance from Walton Street and the race worked out beautifully. Eynhallow has also run well.

“Walton Street is pretty lightly-raced. When he won his maiden, there was no real competition and then he went to Goodwood, again winning very easily. 

“He is a horse that is still learning on the job and today he seemed to just get everything together. He looks a lovely horse and has the pedigree to go with it. He has won well today and hopefully can progress.”