Notable Speech sparkles in Newmarket gallop before racing in Dewhurst day

By Graham Clark

10:52 · SAT October 12, 2024

Charlie Appleby believes he has 2000 Guineas hero and Sussex Stakes winner Notable Speech exactly where he wants him ahead of the Breeders’ Cup following a racecourse gallop at Newmarket on Saturday.

The son of Dubawi will bid to bounce back from defeat in the Prix du Moulin at Longchamp last month when attempting to give the Godolphin handler a record breaking fourth successive win in the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Del Mar on November 2.

Working around a mile under former jockey Paul Eddery the dual Group One scorer, who was one of seven horses that Appleby put through their paces on the Rowley Mile, finished comfortably ahead of his companion Highland Avenue at the end of the exercise.

Appleby said: “Notable Speech had a good blow going through the line there which is good and that is what we came up here for as we intend to head to the Breeders’ Cup with him.

“You could see it a little bit today that he makes hard work of it in that ground, but that will put him right for America.”

Although the result in France didn’t go the way of Notable Speech there were still plenty of positives to take out of the trip according to Appleby which bodes well for his journey to America.

He added: “We tested ourselves by sending him to France as I’ve noted before that he does have his characteristics and if anything that was the positive we took out of Longchamp was how he travelled.

“It was a double-edged sword as firstly we wanted to know how he travelled, and he ticked that box, and secondly we wanted to confirm that he wouldn’t be able to go through that ground and he didn’t.

“It was something we purposely wanted to do to confirm that he is not a soft ground horse.”

Wisdom on target for Germany

A return to Group One company beckons for Ancient Wisdom, who was last sighted winning the Group Three Bahrain Trophy at Newmarket’s July Festival, with Appleby earmarking the Grosser Preis von Bayern at Munich on November 10 as his next target.

The son of Dubawi stepped up his preparations for his trip to Germany with a spin under James Doyle alongside dual Group Three winner Arabian Crown, who was partnered by William Buick, and fellow stablemate Nations Pride.

Appleby said: “Ancient Wisdom is a horse that we know thrives on soft ground so he is going to go to Germany on November 10th for the Grosser Preis von Bayern. He has done well.

"We didn’t go to the St Leger meeting as we didn’t know what the ground would be like, but as it turned out it was on the slower side. He is a horse that revels in testing conditions.

“I do think he is going to be a lovely four year-old. We will campaign for the second half of the year next year and you probably won’t see him out in the spring of his four year old career."

As for Arabian Crown, who has not been sighted since winning the Group Three Classic Trial at Sandown in April, and Nations Pride, winner of the Grade One Arlington Million at Colonial Downs on his last start, Appleby has international targets on the agenda for both.

He added: “We haven’t seen Arabian Crown since the Classic Trial at Sandown Park where he unfortunately met with a setback leading into the Derby. He has had all that time but as you saw there he looks great and physically he has done fantastically well.

“We missed all of our summer targets with him so I didn’t want to force him. I am in a period where I am rebuilding and the older horses are what we need so I’m not just going to be forcing the issue for this year.

“Himself, Ancient Wisdom and potentially Notable Speech will be around next year and they will be a force to be reckoned with so that is realistically why we have taken our time with them this year.

“We might potentially look at going for the James Seymour Stakes up here and he will most likely go to Dubai. He can do the usual stuff out there like the City Of Gold and maybe look at a Sheema Classic. He is going to be a lovely middle distance horse for next year and he will be trained accordingly.

“Nations Pride is a horse that we have not seen since the Arlington Million. We intend to go to Bahrain with him for the Bahrain International Trophy which should be a good spot for him.”

Doncaster date being weighed up for Domini

Having claimed the Futurity Trophy last year with Ancient Wisdom, Appleby is considering giving Anno Domini the chance to extend his unbeaten record in the Group One at Doncaster on October 26 after easing through his gallop alongside lead horse Victory Dance.

However, an outing in the mile prize on Town Moor is not set in stone with Appleby also weighing up a potential outing in the Group Three BetVictor Horris Hill Stakes at Newbury on the same day for the son of New Bay.

Appleby said: “Anno Domini has not been seen since Sandown. He is two from two and is a horse that we like by New Bay.

“We purposely gave him a break after his win at Sandown as we thought that he might be an autumn horse. I was pleased with what I saw out there today.

“We are just toying whether we go to the Horris Hill or be a bit punchier and have a crack at the Futurity Trophy. We will see how much he comes forward for that bit of work. He is a New Bay colt so he likes cut in the ground and at this time of year he will be easy to place.”

Safer gambling

We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.

If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.

Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.

Like what you've read?