‘A big player’ – Distant Storm brewing in Acomb Stakes

Charlie Appleby is confident Distant Storm is heading to York as a “big player” for Wednesday’s Tattersalls Acomb Stakes.

The Godolphin team went to €1.9million to secure the colt’s services at the Arqana breeze-up sale in May and he gave them an immediate return on their investment when making a successful start to his career, albeit narrowly, at Newmarket’s July Festival.

That form could hardly have worked out better, with not only the runner-up Constitution River and the third Catullus winning since, but also the fifth, sixth, seventh, ninth and 10th home.

Couple that with the fact Distant Storm is bred in the purple as a son of Night Of Thunder out of Date With Destiny, who was the sole foal produced by the brilliant George Washington, and it is no surprise Appleby is expecting a bold showing from his charge on the Knavesmire.

“I’m very pleased with the way he has come out of Newmarket, he ran as we expected and has always shown himself up as a nice horse,” the Moulton Paddocks handler told Tattersalls.

“The Acomb was a race we had in mind once he broke his maiden. The way he’s done since his maiden means we’re going with confidence that he will be a big player.

“He’s a horse that’s developing all the time and hopefully looks as though he has got a bright future.”

The biggest threat to Distant Storm appears to be the Aidan O’Brien-trained Italy, who landed cramped odds on his Leopardstown introduction before finishing second to Appleby’s Saba Desert in the Group Two Superlative Stakes on the July course.

O’Brien said: “He ran well at Newmarket. The race was a bit messy but he ran well, he was still green.

“We think and hope he should have come on a bit and we’re expecting a nice run.”

Other contenders include Andrew Balding’s Newbury winner Gewan and David Menuisier’s Goodwood Galaxy, who won on his debut at Salisbury before placing a highly creditable fourth in Goodwood’s Vintage Stakes.

“He ran a good race at Goodwood and it makes sense to run here,” said Menuisier.

“I think he’ll be better over a mile, but there’s no ideal mile race coming up right now so it makes sense to go for the Acomb and then we’ll probably step him up in trip.

“He was slowly away at Goodwood and without that he could have finished even closer, but that is all in the past now and we’re looking to the future.”