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Melbourne Cup winner Cross Counter shows his class

Charlie Appleby has been on a bit of a purple patch over the past couple of years and he extended that run by landing the $1.5 million Group 2 Dubai Gold Cup on Saturday.
The ace British handler, who put daylight between him and the rest of the trainers with an astonishing 21 wins at the Carnival, saddled Melbourne Cup winner Cross Counter to a 1.25 lengths victory.
And it was a one-two for Godolphin with Appleby's Ispolini finishing an impressive second after having threatened for the lead in the closing stages.
Appleby was impressed by both his charges, especially, the Brett Doyle-ridden Ispolini. "We were confident at home. Ispolini was a horse that was certainly on the improvement and was going to find further improvements stepping up to the two mile. So, delighted with the result. Obviously, tonight it is all about Dubai World Cup night and see good racing and see some good horses. And I think we have seen that this evening so far. We've got the Melbourne Cup winner there going on and winning the Gold Cup here," said Appleby, adjudged the International Trainer of the Year for a third successive season.
It was Appleby's first victory in three runs with a third place finish previously, in the race.
Please add line in Race 3
It was Appleby's first victory in three runs with a third place finish previously, in the race.
The 43-year-old said His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, had opted to run Cross Counter in the Gold Cup.
"This is all down His Highness Sheikh Mohammed's decision. He made this decision to run this horse here firstly because it will be nice for everyone to see the Melbourne Cup winner and to bring him up on the world stage here in Dubai has been a bit of a plan for a little while. And I'm glad it has been executed well," revealed Appleby, who had won the Epsom Derby with Masar and the King's Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot with Blue Point.]
Appleby said that they would take a call later on where Cross Counter will ride next.
"We will just sit back and enjoy the evening and we will think about it as the weeks go on," he said.
Meanwhile, Buick said Cross Counter showed his class here.
"He (Ispolini) put in a lovely ride and he kind of pounced on me. He showed a good turn of foot over this trip. Both ran great and this horse just confirmed the class he showed in the Melbourne Cup last year," said Buick.
"He (Cross Counter) set in beautifully, really. He jumped a little bit slow and it was a bit of a stop start and, look, he just showed his class," he added.