Notable Speech wins Sussex Stakes at Goodwood
Notable Speech bounced back to win the Sussex Stakes (G1) on July 31 at Goodwood William Buick in emphatic fashion as favourite Henry Longfellow weakened to finish fourth.
The winner of the Two Thousand Guineas (G1) lost his unbeaten record by finishing seventh in the St James’s Palace Stakes (G1) at Royal Ascot after being kicked out of the 6-4 favourites.
Notable Speech went from 7-4 to 3-1 against Sussex, but defied that market weakness to score against Maljoom and Facteur Cheval, who are rapidly completing, in the £1m Group 1, Breeders’ Cup Challenge Series event. The 3-year-old Dubawi colt earned an automatic berth in the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1T) this fall at Del Mar thanks to his victory.
Ryan Moore was given the lead and held the lead over market leader Henry Longfellow 11-10, and went home with Buick waiting internally before generating Notable Speech after the cut. The explosive kick that dropped Notable Speech at the royal meeting, where Henry Longfellow finished only about six lengths, was back in full effect when he reversed the form.
Buick, who won the Sussex for the first time, told ITV Racing: “He comes here full steam ahead today. He’s a brilliant Guineas winner, with a very rare turn of foot. He showed it today and I’m delighted.
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“All credits to (coach) Charlie (Appleby) and the whole team, they did a very clever job with him to get him back after a disappointing run at St James’s Palace, where he was evidently too lacking to be true.
Notable Speech won his first 3 starts at Kempton’s all-weather track and after taking his career record to 5 out of 6, Buick added, “He’s such a brilliant horse. It is a horse that you are passionate about and it is a real privilege to ride it.
Godolphin is the first winner of the Two Thousand Guineas since Frankel in 2011 to continue his good fortune at the Newmarket Classic with a win at Sussex that same season.
Of the feat, Appleby said: “It’s vital that those old horses come here and bring this old generation to the table where they deserve to move forward.
“We were all asking ourselves the same question: ‘What happened at Ascot?’ And we had no excuses. Today we were very sure that the horse was as intelligent as when he went to the Guineas.
Trainer Charlie Appleby, who, like Buick, was winning the race for the first time, added: “The disappointment comes when you have an undefeated horse and a defeated Guinean winner, but, as I’ve been taught, and I’m very fortunate to do it. ” To have the team and especially His Highness Sheikh Mohammed behind me: never look back, look forward and take the positive out of everything.
“The positive thing is that there was nothing. If the horse had been lame or something, we would have been disappointed, but fortunately there was nothing wrong and we moved on. “
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