Notable Speech stamps his class in City Of York Stakes

YORK – Notable Speech will head to America for a defence of his Breeders’ Cup crown on a high after routing his rivals in the £600,000 (S$1.04 million) Group 1 City Of York Stakes (1,400m) at York on Aug 22.

Trainer Charlie Appleby’s star miler shed his European Group 1 duck in the Lockinge Stakes (1,600m) at Newbury earlier in the season, but arrived at York looking to bounce back to his best after having disappointed in the Group 1 Queen Anne Stakes (1,600m) at Royal Ascot on June 16.

Fresh from a break and tackling the seven-furlong trip for the first time, the likeable son of Dubawi always looked to be going nicely on the inside.

Once asked to quicken by jockey William Buick, the five-year-old galloper – sent off a $19 chance on the Singapore Pools tote – showed his customary turn of foot to put the race to bed at the 200m mark before pulling clear to strike by 2¾ lengths.

Trainer William Haggas’ Lake Forest (Cieren Fallon) was beaten into second, while the Andrew Balding-trained Marvelman (Patrick Joseph McDonald) emerged with plenty of credit back in third.

Appleby said Notable Speech now looks set to return stateside to defend his title in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Turf Mile (1,600m).

“You’ve got to admire him. You get good horses who can do it at two and three, but when they do it at four and five you’ve got to doff your cap to them,” said the British handler.

“I spoke to a couple of guys from the Breeders’ Cup earlier today. What is good about today is he has shown his versatility on ground slightly softer than ideal.

“Going to Keeneland, you can have a question mark about whether the ground will be a bit more autumnal, so hopefully that has given us the confidence that we can head straight to the Breeders’ Cup now.

“We’re allowed to give these horses an opportunity to do it at this age, which is a huge credit to team Godolphin.

“It would be very easy to retire a horse like him. This horse can go to stud at the end of the year, and I’d be the first person to send him a mare if I had one.

“We all know it’s been something that we’ve needed (a Group 1 race over 1,400m in England). We’ve seen a few of them around the world and in France, but hopefully, having this lad win today will be a big kudos to the race. Hopefully it shows what sort of horse you need to win it.”

Haggas was pleased with the run by runner-up Lake Forest, who could be set for a rematch with Notable Speech in the Breeders’ Cup should conditions come up soft in the Group 1 Prix de la Foret (1,400m), which will be held at ParisLongchamp on Oct 4.

“We’ll consider the Foret, but it depends on the ground,” said Haggas.

“We’ll certainly look at the Breeders’ Cup Mile. He (Notable Speech) has been there before and I don’t know if we’ve ever been around a mile, maybe once in Australia.

“We’ll try to rectify it. He’ll (Lake Forest) need to jump out of the stalls properly in America.

“I’m not sure what we’ll do next but he’s a Group 2 winner. He’s run a good race, and the winner was very good. He never got any cover at all and was stuck on the wing, but he’s a useful horse and will land on one of these one day.”

A five-year-old gelding by No Nay Never, Lake Forest has recorded two Group 2 victories, namely the Lennox Stakes (1,400m) at Goodwood on July 28 and the 2023 Gimcrack Stakes (1,200m) at York. RACING AND SPORTS