An Early Look Ahead To The Flat Season - One Horse / Jockey / Trainer To Follow

With so many horses to take into account, it is hard to whittle it down to just one to follow.

We have identified a horse that many may have forgot about, given that his season was cut short through injury after winning the Coventry at Royal Ascot.

Of course we are talking about Calyx, who sports the infamous colours of Prince Khaled Abdullah – who also has the returning Enable to look forward and will campaign for a third successive Prix de L’Arc de Triomphe later in the season.

Calyx – also trained by John Gosden is two from two, after his debut win at Newmarket on the July course was preceded by his impressive first victory in a big-field group contest at the royal meeting.

He has not been seen since, so the eye is drawn to the form of the race.

The second Advertise – trained by Martyn Meade, has come out and won a valuable Group Two in Britain and a Group One in Ireland, with the third Sergei Prokofiev also prevailing at the top level at Newmarket.

Currently 10/1 for the Guineas, and although his stablemate Too Darn Hot has clearly set the standard, the son of Kingman cannot be discounted that easily.

Oisin Murphy had a season to remember last term, and after starring in Hong Kong over the winter break, he will look to kick on this term once again.

Murphy - a nephew of three-time Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Jim Culloty, grew up in Killarney and made an instant impact in his first year as a professional jockey back in 2013.

He gained his first Group success when partnering Hot Streak to victory in the Group Two Temple Stakes at Haydock in May 2014, and went on to be crowned Champion Apprentice later that year.

Murphy rides mainly for Andrew Balding, but is also a retained rider to Qatar Racing, for whom he became number one jockey for in 2016.

He gained his first Group One victory at the 2017 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe meeting aboard the Martyn Meade-trained Aclaim in the Prix de la Foret, but had to wait a little while before his first success of that type in Britain.

He eventually broke his duck when guiding Roaring Lion to success in the Coral Eclipse last July – a horse that went onto win the Juddmonte, the Irish Champion and the Queen Elizabeth Stakes on Champions Day.

Murphy has since gone on to ride eleven more winners at the top level, including Lightning Spear’s success in the Qatar Sussex Stakes at Glorious Goodwood.

A big season awaits.

Charlie Appleby was another man with a season to saviour last term, but will know more will be required to repeat those feats this term.

He is a man in outstanding form nonetheless, having recorded big race successes in the Nassau Stakes with Wild Illusion, Kings Stand Stakes with Blue Point, but most notably with Masar in the Epsom Derby last term – for which the latter was a first success in the race for Godolphin.

Appleby went onto further those successes by taking his campaign abroad with the association he has with the boys in blue.

He landed the Vincent O'Brien National Stakes with his standout two-year-old Quorto, before taking the Melbourne Cup with Cross Counter – again another first-time success for Godolphin.

The 44-year-old is finally getting the credit he deserves, and has Line Of Duty and La Pelosa as other young individuals to look forward to.

Charlie Appleby is definitely a trainer to look out for this year.