Appleby and Buick land juvenile double at Yarmouth with Nabati shining

Nabati handled his first start like a colt with more ahead of him, quickening to win the 15:09 Weatherbys EBF Maiden Stakes at Yarmouth by 1¼ lengths and giving Charlie Appleby and William Buick the first half of a juvenile double on the card. The chestnut son of Night Of Thunder, out of Pronouncement, was sent off 2/9 favourite, travelled smoothly on the good to firm turf and finished with something in hand in the four-runner 6f contest.

That mattered because Yarmouth’s 6f maiden has already proved a useful launchpad for a serious youngster. Shadow Of Light won the same race on 4 July 2024 before going on to take the Group 1 Middle Park Stakes and Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes later that year, then ended the season as Europe’s champion two-year-old with a rating of 120. Nabati did not face the same depth of opposition, with only three rivals, but he showed the sort of composure and turn of foot that suggests the trip is within range and that he may not be just a raw debut winner.

Buick’s verdict matched the impression left on track. He called Nabati “really professional”, said the colt got “a nice experience” and added that he showed “a bit of quality”. Those are the right notes for a horse who is already being viewed as a potential stakes performer, not merely a sales-ring headline, and whose most interesting races are likely to come later in the summer or into the autumn.

Appleby and Buick completed the double when Musical Times made every yard in the 15:40 fillies’ novice over 7f, stretching clear to win by 1¾ lengths. The chestnut daughter of Lope De Vega, out of Dubai Fountain, had already struck on debut at Newmarket (July) on 19 June and was a 1/5 favourite at Yarmouth, another sign that Godolphin’s juvenile squad is moving along quickly.

Musical Times’ profile points toward middle-distance fillies’ company, while Nabati looks the more intriguing colt for the months ahead. The market already reflects that split, with Nabati quoted at 33-1 for next year’s colts’ classics and Musical Times trimmed to 25-1 for the 1,000 Guineas, after a meeting at Yarmouth run in sunny intervals on good to firm ground that underlined the depth of Appleby’s summer hand.