Notable Speech all class in Woodbine Mile

The connections of Notable Speech will always consider last month’s Prix Jacques le Marois (G1) at Deauville, in which his belated rally fell a head short of success, as a race that got away from the classic-winning colt. 

“He should have won,” jockey Will Buick reflected. “It was very frustrating.”

The Godolphin homebred earned redemption on Saturday, outclassing eight rivals in the $768,833 Woodbine Mile (G1) despite a slow start. The 1 3/4-length tally snapped a six-race losing skid and earned the four-year-old son of Dubawi a fees-paid berth into the Nov. 1 Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1) at Del Mar.

Notable Speech, who captured the 2000 Guineas (G1) and Sussex (G1) last season, finished third as the 2-1 favorite in last year’s Mile at Del Mar.

After a slow start to his 2025 campaign in which he finished fourth or fifth in three consecutive Group 1s in England, Notable Speech has begun to come around. The Deauville race was an obvious tip-off, and he was made the 2-5 favorite in the Woodbine Mile.

Although tardy from the gate, Notable Speech’s tactical foot allowed him to catch up with the field before the first turn. Saving ground down the backside, Notable Speech was able to rally wide into contention on the far turn. Set down in the stretch, Notable Speech powered home on the outside for the win.

Notable Speech covered the distance in 1:35.33 on firm ground and paid $2.80. Pacesetter My Boy Prince held second by 1 3/4 lengths over Gas Me Up. The order of finish was rounded out by Naptown, One Stripe, 2024 Mile winner Win for the Money, Stanley House, Wyoming Bill, and Hunt Master.

The Woodbine Mile victory was a welcome result for Team Godolphin, which saw favorites Wild Desert and Dance to the Music fall short in the Summer (G1) and Natalma (G1), respectively, earlier on Woodbine’s Saturday program.

Notable Speech is the third Woodbine Mile winner in the last four years for Godolphin, trainer Charlie Appleby, and jockey Buick. Their previous winners, Modern Games (2022) and Master of the Seas (2023), both went on to capture the Breeders’ Cup Mile.

“Look, he ran a solid race last year,” said assistant trainer Alex Merriam about Notable Speech’s effort in the 2024 Breeders’ Cup Mile. “I think the experience from going there and coming here again, hopefully sharpening up on the two turns, and he shouldn’t be too far away.”

Notable Speech was bred in England and is out of the Group 3-placed Swift Rose, an Invincible Spirit half-sister to 2021 Natalma heroine Wild Beauty.