Charlie Appleby is looking forward to enjoying the much-anticipated rematch between Notable Speech and Rosallion with the pressure off in Wednesday’s £1m Qatar Sussex Stakes - the race of the week for many, and the second of three QIPCO British Champions Series events at the Qatar Goodwood Festival.
Notable Speech showed a devastating change of gear when making it four from four on his first turf start in the QIPCO 2000 Guineas at Newmarket, where he appeared to beat Rosallion fair and square by a length and a half in a race that has worked out particularly well.
He was widely expected to follow up in the St James's Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot next time but on this occasion it was Rosallion, who in the meantime had won the Irish 2000 Guineas, who showed the impressive turn of foot.
In one of the highlights of the meeting Rosallion quickened really well to collar Henry Longfellow and win by a neck after having to wait for an opening, while Notable Speech failed to pick up and beat only one rival. With the score between the pair now at one all the Sussex Stakes is something of a decider, although it looks by no means a two-horse race.
Appleby can not fully account for what happened at Royal Ascot, but he is optimistic. He said: “We are very much looking forward to it, and if Notable Speech goes there in the same form as in the Guineas it will be good fun.
"We are perhaps the underdog this time, but I quite like that.”
He added: “Nothing came out in the wash after Ascot. The vets did all of the checks and found nothing, but it was one of those strange races to watch. I can’t really use that as an excuse for us not finishing third or fourth, but the way the race was run it was always going to be hard from where we were.
“You can spot horses lengths in maidens and a few handicaps, but you don’t spot Group 1 horses lengths around Ascot at that level. We were always having to chase, but what was disappointing for me was that he didn’t run through the line.
“We gave him a bit of a break and from there onwards he’s not missed a beat. He looks a million dollars and his work has been very good at home again. He’s showing all of the right signs. We know he’s got an electric turn of foot, and he’s been showing it over the last few weeks.”
Richard Hannon was very much involved when his father Richard senior won the Sussex Stakes with Canford Cliffs in 2010 and Toronado three years later. Both were milers of the highest class, yet he has little doubt that Rosallion is even better.
Speaking last week at a stable visit organised by Goodwood Racecourse, he said: “This fella is probably everything you could ever dream of. My dad might disagree but I think Rosallion is the best miler we have had and certainly the best since Canford Cliffs.
“He has won three Group 1s, including one as a two-year-old, and has got better with every run. He has been a different horse since the 2,000 Guineas and he has turned from a boy to a man as the season has progressed.
“There were three Guineas winners in the St James’s Palace Stakes. For me it was a championship race. This time we are taking on older horses for the first time, so it is a new challenge. I am hoping the track at Goodwood won’t be a problem, but it’s an unknown.”
Talking again at Ascot on Saturday, he added: “He’s in great nick and couldn’t look any better. It looks as if he’s settling better in his work now and I’m very pleased with the way he’s moving.
“I don’t think there’s a Frankel in the field, and he’s beaten his fellow three-year-olds already. I know Charlie’s horse didn’t turn up at Ascot, but I’m very happy with my lad and he’ll be hard to beat.”
Aidan O’Brien’s previous wins here stretch from Giants Causeway in 2000 to Paddington last year. A seventh win with Henry Longfellow would see him share the race record with Sir Henry Cecil.
It’s entirely possible too as O’Brien has suggested that we have still to see the best of Henry Longfellow.
He said: “We always thought he was a special horse and we were over the moon with his run at Royal Ascot. If we’d got a clearer run in France, we would have known more going into Ascot, so we went into Ascot just learning about him. There’s every chance he’ll progress."
Three-year-olds have historically enjoyed a significant advantage over their elders here, and on paper the older horses all have a bit to find. However, Goliath’s 25/1 win in Saturday’s ‘King George’ provided a timely reminder that it can pay to look beyond the obvious even in these marquee events.
If there's another surprise in store it could come from Maljoom, who has made the racecourse only three times since his desperately unlucky fourth in the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot two years ago but shaped encouragingly in the Queen Anne.
Trainer William Haggas is quietly optimistic and said: “We are putting a pair of half-cup blinkers on him. He worked in them last week and he impressed me. They are not there to frighten him, but they will help his concentration.
“He’s going to find it tough against the three-year-olds but he’s getting his confidence back and he’s in really good shape. I hope the ground continues to dry out, as the faster the better for him. I think he’ll be competitive."
Jockey Tom Marquand added: “He had a long time off the track and it can be hard to get them back to where they were mentally. The engine’s still there for sure though and I think the headgear is just what he needs to get him sharp again.
"He needs to step up again on his Queen Anne third, but he’s still a very good horse."
Facteur Cheval was an excellent second here a year ago and occupied the same place in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot in October before gaining reward for his consistency in the Dubai Turf in March. He can be forgiven his sixth in the Queen Anne as the ground was too quick, he lost a shoe, and he found himself isolated from the pack in the middle of the course.
The top-class handicapper Sonny Liston completes a highly select field of six. He has been second under big weights in the last two Hunt Cups but beat only one rival when dipping his toe into Pattern company in the Group 2 Summer Mile back at Ascot earlier this month. Following that lacklustre effort the blinkers he acquired last season but has not worn before this year are reapplied.
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