Fallon predicting big week for Appleby

Kieren Fallon is confident the ammunition Charlie Appleby has at his disposal will see his employer make his mark at Royal Ascot.

The six-time champion jockey rode 30 winners at the Royal meeting, walking away with the leading rider award in 2000 and having ridden for the likes of Sir Henry Cecil, Sir Michael Stoute and Aidan O’Brien during his time in the weighing room.

Now as a key member of the Moulton Paddocks engine room, he has an insight into the preparations of Appleby’s Ascot squad and feels the Godolphin handler could even land an early blow given his ultra-strong hand for the curtain-raising Queen Anne Stakes.

Fallon said: “I think Charlie has plenty of bullets to fire. He’s got a few there now and you would be disappointed if he doesn’t have a winner. There’s lots to look forward to.

“There will be something wrong if Notable Speech doesn’t win the Queen Anne. Opera Ballo is in there as well and a lot will depend on how William (Buick) rides him. If William takes Notable Speech back out of his ground and Opera Ballo gets a freebie then he might struggle to pick him up, he’s a good horse.”

Appleby will also pitch Talk Of New York into a white-hot St James’s Palace Stakes on day one of the Royal meeting and he is another exciting colt Fallon can envisage providing the likes of Bow Echo and Gstaad problems in a race where luck in running could prove crucial.

“Talk Of New York is a good horse. He’s only won a Listed race, but we’ve always thought a lot of him and he was probably our best two-year-old (last year),” explained Fallon.

“Things didn’t quite work out for him in Dubai, but he was impressive at Sandown and he’s still got improvement to come as well.

“I think he will give Bow Echo something to think about and a lot could depend on the draw – you can get stuck down there on the rail. Talk Of New York is definitely a live one.”

Waiting at the end of the week will be the ever-reliable Rebel’s Romance, the horse that salvaged Appleby’s Ascot 12 months ago and will be back to defend his Hardwicke Stakes title.

The eight-year-old’s globetrotting exploits have seen him catapulted to popularity with a worldwide racing audience and he will be forever loved most by those closest to him.

Fallon said: “He’s a gentle giant he is and you could put your kids on him. He turns up year after year and has been a great servant.

“His CV is phenomenal and Pam (Little) who runs the old yard does a great job with him. She knows him inside out and makes a pet out of him and he knows it.”

Further explaining his enjoyment in the blue of team Appleby, he added: “It’s a fun yard and all the boys get on. There’s a lot of ex-jockeys there and plenty who were riding when I was riding.

“It’s good and you need that in a yard and the horses feed off the atmosphere.”