Notable Speech ‘looks a million dollars’ ahead of Sussex test
Godolphin’s 2000 Guineas hero will aim to put a poor Royal Ascot run behind him.
Charlie Appleby is expecting Notable Speech to return to his brilliant best in Wednesday’s Qatar Sussex Stakes at Goodwood. The Godolphin colt looked set to be the star miler of his generation when maintaining his unbeaten record in the 2000 Guineas, with runner-up Rosallion subsequently going one better in the Irish equivalent. However, when they met again at Royal Ascot in the St James’s Palace Stakes, Rosallion came out on top as Notable Speech proved bitterly disappointing. With Rosallion declared a non-runner on Tuesday morning due to a respiratory infection, round three of the rivalry will not take place at Goodwood as hoped, meaning Notable Speech has an even better opportunity to get his career back on track.“I’m looking forward to it. Nothing came out in the wash after Ascot, the vet did all the checks and nothing came of it,” said Appleby. “It was one of those strange races to watch to be fair, and I’m still not going to use it as an excuse as to why we couldn’t finish third or fourth, but the way the race was run, it was always going to be very hard from where we were. “You can spot horses lengths in maidens and handicaps, but you can’t spot Group One horses lengths round Ascot at that level and we were always having to chase. “The disappointing thing from our part on that day was I wouldn’t have minded getting beat if he had run through the line, but he didn’t and that was the bit I took from it, to be honest. “We gave him a bit of a break and from there on he hasn’t missed a beat. I think he looks a million dollars and I will be disappointed if you don’t like the way he looks on Wednesday.” He went on: “I couldn’t have faulted him the way he went into Ascot, but his work has been very good at home again and he is showing all the right signs. “He’s showing the signs of what we see on the racetrack – his speed, he’s got an electric turn of foot and he’s been showing us that over the last few weeks. I’m looking forward to it.”
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