Fortitudine could be set for turf outing in Godolphin Stakes

Trainer Charlie Appleby at York (Mike Egerton/PA)
Trainer Charlie Appleby at York (Mike Egerton/PA)
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Fortitudine could get his first taste of turf action in the Betway Godolphin Stakes at Newmarket later this month.

The three-year-old has big shoes to fill as a full-brother to Charlie Appleby’s globetrotting superstar Rebel’s Romance, and could not have made a more impressive start when bolting up by 21 lengths on his racecourse debut at Kempton in early August.

He doubled his tally on the Sunbury all-weather earlier this month and while the son of Dubawi has a long way to go to match the achievements of his recently-retired sibling, Appleby is hoping to test him at Listed level on the Rowley Mile on September 25.

When asked about future plans for his promising youngster, the Moulton Paddocks handler quipped: “We’ll go to the Arc next year now, I suppose!

“All joking apart, we might look at the Newmarket Stakes – that’s now a three-year-old race.

“We’ll look at that if the ground is sound, because he is like his brother – he does want quick ground. He’s not robust enough to take on slow conditions.”

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