English/Ire
Rebel’s Romance repels Epic Poet to be crowned Yorkshire Cup champ
Rebel’s Romance enjoyed a first success in England since December 2023 when battling on bravely to deny Epic Poet in the Group 2 Yorkshire Cup on Friday.
A seven-time top-level winner, Rebel's Romance's glittering CV features a whole host of international successes, including two Breeders' Cup victories, a pair of Group 1 triumphs at Cologne in Germany and recent Group 2 glory in Qatar.
The seven-year-old son of Dubawi arrived back on home soil having finished a creditable fourth when attempting to defend his Dubai Sheema Classic crown at Meydan in March but was stepping into unknown territory as he geared up to go beyond a mile and a half for the first time in his career.
Always towards the fore under William Buick, who seemed keen to keep a close eye on the front-running Continuous throughout, Rebel's Romance moved into contention travelling smoothly.
Buick waited to unleash his mount deep into the straight and although he picked up well to hold a slender advantage heading into the final furlong, those in behind were hot on the new leader's heels as he continued his journey into the unknown.
Epic Poet emerged as a major threat in the closing stages, but Buick's mount continued to stick his neck out and eventually fended off the challenge to score by a head.
"He's a real favourite with his own little fan base and rightly so for what he's achieved through his career," said Appleby of the 11/10 market leader.
"A few people asked why we came here, but I just felt in his last few runs over a mile and a half that I didn't know if he still had that kick you need at the top level.
"We didn't want to go travelling just yet, we've got a bit of a career-end programme for him that will hopefully involve staying in Europe for the summer and then our American trips towards the second half of the season.
"I'm a believer in that if you go that steady, then any horse has a chance. Whether they're a Group 1 horse or a handicapper, they can all sprint for a couple of furlongs.
"When they went as steady as they did, I thought it could be interesting, I'd rather they'd have gone a decent gallop, but I was always confident he was going to win.
"We've seen time and time again that he is one of those horses that just puts his head down and goes again when something comes to him."
On what the future holds as regards trip, Appleby looks likely to drop his globetrotting star back to a mile-and-a-half, admitting he feels the slack early tempo may have enabled the Dubawi colt to get away with the extra two furlongs on the Knavesmire.
He added: "When William got off, he said, 'he's a mile-and-a-half horse, we got away with it'. Had he gone and won a more stoutly-run race then we might have thought about Goodwood but on the evidence of what William said, I think we'll go back to a mile and a half.
"He'll probably go to Germany and he's in the Coronation Cup. We'll see how he comes out of this race, but he has plenty of options, I'd imagine he'll go to Canada and then back to the Breeders' Cup."
Paddy Power trimmed the winner to 8/1 (from 10s) for the Coronation Cup.
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