By Sean Cronin
Godolphin's 2024 G1 2000 Guineas hero and multiple elite-level winner Notable Speech (Dubawi) was sent postward as the heavily-supported 2-1 favourite for Saturday's G1 Boyle Sports Lockinge Stakes at Newbury and the TDN Rising Star unleashed an explosive display to outclass nine rivals in the one-mile feature.
“It was a great training performance by Charlie [Appleby] and to bring him back in this form is a credit to everyone at home,” beamed William Buick. “It was all falling apart in front of me, but he was explosive and is an absolutely top-class miler.”
“He has an explosive turn of foot and he comes on the scene late,” the rider added. “I thought he was exceptional today and it felt amazing. We went to Keeneland last time thinking we would win [the GI Maker's Mark Mile] and never got a fair crack at it at all and it was frustrating. We knew he was coming here in good shape and it's always nice to correct those frustrating losses.”
Charlie Appleby, who halted a career-long losing sequence with a double at Newmarket on Friday, continued, “He's got some turn of foot and not many horses can quicken like he can. If it turned into a burn up in the last couple of furlongs then William is on the right horse. William knows him and has the confidence on him and I have the confidence in both of them. I always say to William you will either be a hero or a villain and sit and sit and when you want to go, sit again, and then at the last moment let him off. Colm O'Donoghue rides him and told me he's in the form of his life and he was right. The team has done a fantastic job and I'm delighted for the horse as that's a stallion-making win for him.”
Looking to the immediate future, the Moulton Paddocks steward added, “He will go on from here to the [G1] Queen Anne [at Royal Ascot]. We were unlucky in the Queen Anne last year and, to be fair, we've learned about this horse. I think, knowing what we know now, we would have gone very close in it last year. We'll take Opera Ballo as well and it will be a big race for us, but I go there with Notable Speech more relaxed now that he has done that. All I wanted him to do was win another Group 1 in Europe and he's done that now.”
The G1 Sussex, GI Woodbine Mile and GI Breeders' Cup Mile winner raced under cover in a midfield sixth as Coolmore's rabbit Mississippi River (Lope De Vega) set searching early fractions up front through halfway.
Angled into an open lane with a quarter-mile remaining, the five-year-old homebred produced a stunning burst to put the contest to bed in a matter of strides approaching the final furlong and just kept on rolling to overpower last term's G2 Hungerford winner More Thunder (Night Of Thunder) by an impressive two lengths. The remainder were headed by recent G2 Sandown Mile third Zeus Olympios (Night Of Thunder), who finished 3/4-of-a-length adrift of the runner-up.
Runner-up More Thunder delighted trainer William Haggas and may also be Queen Anne-bound, according to the in-form Newmarket conditioner. “I was delighted with him, he ran a very good race and he got the trip. He got caught a bit far back early, but he jumped better than usual and the winner had a good turn of foot. He stayed on nicely, though. I still think he will prove perfectly capable over seven furlongs, but the mile was no problem today. He will probably go to the Queen Anne now, why not? He's a really good horse.”
Karl Burke was not too downcast with the performance of Zeus Olympios and shall take stock before committing to Royal Ascot plans. “He still ran a bit green and ran away from the stick a little bit a furlong out, which was a shame as, a furlong-and-a-half out, I thought we were the winner. I didn't really see how well William [Buick] was going until I saw the replay, but you can't be disappointed. He's taken a really positive step forward from Sandown. I still think he's a work-in-progress and that is his first run in a Group 1 and I do think we can drop on one somewhere. I think that the race showed his inexperience and Clifford [Lee] thought if he had a better draw they would have half-chased him along. I'm not saying he would have won, but he might have been closer for second. We'll see how he comes out of it before discussing Royal Ascot.”
Reflecting on the effort of fourth-place finisher Dancing Gemini (Camelot), trainer Roger Teal commented, “It was a blinding run and we were probably a bit further back than we wanted. Don't write him off, he's become a bit of a forgotten horse, but he'll be back. He came from a long way off the pace and I thought he might get third. Another 10 yards he might have done. I think we'll go up to 10 furlongs now and he's proved the way he's finished there he wants another couple of extra furlongs. He'll take a shot at the [G1] Prince of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot.”
Wathnan Racing's Richard Brown was a tad bemused by the run of sixth home Damysus (Frankel) and said, “James [Doyle] said he didn't have that explosive turn of foot we know he has, so it's a bit of a head-scratcher. He showed himself to be in great nick at home and he's pulled up fine, but it's very inconclusive. The irritating thing is we haven't learned much today, but we live to fight another day. We're sure he's a good horse and there will be plenty more good days in him.”
All class! 🔵
NOTABLE SPEECH strikes in the @BoyleSports Lockinge! 🏆@NewburyRacing @WilliamBuickX @godolphin pic.twitter.com/GA0sTquUi6
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) May 16, 2026
Pedigree Notes
Notable Speech, full to a two-year-old filly and kin to the twice-raced three-year-old maiden filly Moonlit Rose (Pinatubo), is the first of three foals produced by G3 UAE Oaks runner-up Swift Rose (Invincible Spirit).
His dam, who is a daughter of the dual Group 3-placed Listed Prix Ceres winner Tulips (Pivotal), is a half-sister to GI Natalma Stakes victrix Wild Beauty (Frankel) and G3 Burj Nahaar victor Desert Wisdom (Dubawi).
The winner's fourth dam is G1 Prix Maurice de Gheest and G1 Haydock Sprint Cup heroine Cherokee Rose (Dancing Brave), whose descendants include G1 St Leger, G1 Hong Kong Vase and G2 Derby Italiano hero Mastery (Sulamani), G1 Poule d'Essai des Poulains third Bowman (Irish River) and G1 Dewhusrt Stakes runner-up and dual Group-winning sire Cable Bay (Invincible Spirit).
Saturday, Newbury, Britain
BOYLE SPORTS LOCKINGE STAKES-G1, £400,000, Newbury, 5-16, 4yo/up, 8fT, 1:36.27, gd.
1–NOTABLE SPEECH (GB), 128, h, 5, by Dubawi (Ire)
1st Dam: Swift Rose (Ire) (GSP-UAE), by Invincible Spirit (Ire)
2nd Dam: Tulips (Ire), by Pivotal (GB)
3rd Dam: Hint Of Spring (GB), by Seeking The Gold
TDN Rising Star. O/B-Godolphin; T-Charlie Appleby; J-William Buick. £226,840. Lifetime Record: GISW-US, GISW-Can & G1SP-Fr, 16-8-1-1, $3,516,971. Werk Nick Rating: A+++ *Triple Plus*. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–More Thunder (Ire), 128, h, 5, Night Of Thunder (Ire)–Buying Trouble, by Hat Trick (Jpn). 1ST GROUP 1 BLACK TYPE. (€270,000 Ylg '22 GOFOR; 190,000gns RNA 3yo '24 TATAHI). O-Saeed Suhail; B-Woodstock Bloodstock Ltd & Troy Bloodstock Ltd; T-William Haggas. £86,000.
3–Zeus Olympios (GB), 128, c, 4, Night Of Thunder (Ire)–Rhea (GB), by Siyouni (Fr). 1ST GROUP 1 BLACK TYPE. O-Exors of the Late Sheikh Mohammed Obaid; B-Sheikh Mohammed Obaid Al Maktoum; T-Karl Burke. £43,040.
Margins: 2, 3/4, NK. Odds: 2.00, 9.00, 4.00.
Also Ran: Dancing Gemini (Ire), The Lion In Winter (Ire), Damysus (GB), Cicero's Gift (GB), Sahlan (Ire), Jonquil (GB), Mississippi River (Ire).
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