Sussex Stakes day at Glorious Goodwood: Notable Speech wins Sussex Stakes

After Kyprios grabbed Tuesday’s Glorious headlines by winning the Goodwood Cup, it was the Godolphin-owned Notablre Speech – ridden by William Buick for trainer Charlie Appleby – who triumphed in the showpiece of the week.

Shrugging off a disappointing run in the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot, Notable Speech rediscovered the form which saw him capture the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket.

The 11/10 favourite Henry Longfellow and outsider Sonny Liston made the early running, but in the home straight Notable Speech was sitting quietly on their heels. Once the field reached the cutaway, William Buick’s mount quickened impressively towards the far rail and accelerated clear.

Runner-up Maljoom finished a length and a half behind, a neck ahead of French challenger Facteur Cheval, while Henry Longfellow, who finished nearly six lengths ahead of Notable Speech at Royal Ascot, was fourth.

Appleby said: “When you have an unbeaten Classic winner going into a St James’s Palace Stakes and you’re beaten the way we were, of course you walk away disappointed. But I was happier to be beaten the way we were than to finish second or third and say we weren’t good enough. He just didn’t turn up, simple as that. The question will probably always be asked, and I will probably never have the answer to it, unfortunately.

“Coming into today, his preparation was faultless. He looked great, and pre-race we shaved a couple of kilos back off him again. Was that winning or losing? I don’t think so, to be honest. I think he is just a horse who turned up with his A-game again. He got a great trip round there. I was wondering whether they had taken the cutaway away – I was waiting for it to turn up – but once the cutaway arrived, William had plenty of horse underneath him to go and make use of it.

“What I love about him is that he hasn’t got great stride length, but he turns those legs over quick, and that’s why you see that acceleration. You’ll see plenty of horses in the morning that have great stride length and everyone will be very excited about it, but I like it when they turn them over quicker. It’s normally a sign that they can quicken up.

“Someone asked me yesterday, where was Notable Speech this time last year? I said he’d only just turned up in the yard and was probably doing one canter up our short canter of five furlongs, no more than that. Everyone who sat on him liked him, but he just wasn't strong enough to do what was expected of him at that time in his career. Therefore, I was in a very fortunate position to be able to give a horse like him the time, and hopefully bring the best out of them, and in his case it certainly has.

“We haven’t really made a plan – we just wanted to make sure we nailed today. What I am very happy with is that he is maturing – not in the paddock, we’ve seen him in the paddock before Ascot, before the Guineas, before his Kempton run, and you couldn’t get a more horizontal horse walking round the paddock. But what he’s learnt is coming to the races and in the stable yard, where he has shown immaturity in the past. All credit to Emily who looks after him and all the team back home who have done a fantastic job. In the actual race you couldn’t get a more mature horse considering the lack of experience he has, but the rest of it is all starting to click into place now, and I feel that is hopefully going to keep him where he is at the top table.

“Of course we’d love to go to America. He’s learning week on week and maturing, so I wouldn’t rule it out of the equation.”

Buick said: “Notable Speech was firing on all cylinders coming in here today. He was a brilliant Guineas winner, with a very rare turn of foot that you very rarely see, and we saw that again today. I am delighted. Full credit to the team. They’ve done such a fantastic job to get him back after a disappointing run in the St James’s Palace Stakes, when we knew it was too bad to be true.

“When you come into the thick of the race when the taps get turned on I was a lot happier in every sense [than Royal Ascot]. Whichever way I looked at it, I could not get away from what he did at Newmarket in the Guineas. That gave me plenty of confidence.

“He is such an uncomplicated horse and takes everything in his stride. A horse with his ability and turn of foot is rare to see. He’s a horse that really excites you and it’s a real privilege to ride him. When you have a horse with the kick that he has, it makes the job a lot easier. He is a brilliant horse.”

Less than two hours before the £1m race, there was good news for the future of Glorious and those high prize money levels as Goodwood announced the renewal of their multi-year partnership with Qatar that will commence in 2025.

They said: “The existing sponsorship with Qatar Racing & Equestrian Club has been a hugely successful 10-year partnership that commenced in 2015. It remains the biggest single sponsorship deal in British Horseracing and has enabled the Qatar Goodwood Festival to become one of the most prestigious meetings in the world.

"The new partnership marks a transition from the Qatar Racing & Equestrian Club to Visit Qatar as the main sponsor of the meeting, which includes the feature race on each day of the world-famous five-day festival.

"This partnership will preserve the legacy of the Qatar International Stakes, a race for purebred Arabian horses, which was established during the first edition of the Qatar Goodwood Festival and serves as the first leg of the Doha Triple Crown.

“As a result of the new partnership, the Qatar Goodwood Festival will continue and build on its position as one of the undisputed highlights of the British Flat racing season.”

Here’s a selection of 31 great photos from day one.

The Duke of Richmond, Chairman of Goodwood Racecourse, said: “I would like to take this opportunity to thank Qatar Racing & Equestrian Club for their enormous contribution to the Qatar Goodwood Festival and to British Horseracing. We are thrilled to announce our partnership with Visit Qatar and we are very much looking forward to working with them to continue to take our iconic raceweek to a new level.”

His Excellency Mr Saad bin Ali Al Kharji, Chair of Board of Directors of Visit Qatar, said: "Building on the legacy of the Qatar Racing & Equestrian Club, we are pleased to announce the renewal of a multi-year partnership with Goodwood Racecourse. This milestone reflects our dedication to continue showcasing Qatar's vibrant culture and distinctive offerings to a global audience. We look forward to the opportunities this partnership will bring, further solidifying Qatar's positioning in the international sporting world.”

Before the main race programme, Arabian racing’s outstanding horse Al Ghadeer graced Goodwood again today and repeated last year’s victory in the £400,000 G1 Qatar International Stakes.

This was the first leg in the Doha Triple Crown, which Al Ghadeer completed earlier this year, following up his Goodwood success in the Qatar Arabian World Cup at Longchamp on Arc Weekend and in February’s HH The Amir Sword in Qatar.

Making his seasonal debut today, Al Ghadeer was given an easy return to the track by jockey Christophe Soumillon, who barely moved as the Al Shaqab Racing-owned five-year-old won convincingly.

Winning trainer Francois Rohaut was also responsible for the third home Ska De L’Aigle, with the Jean de Mieulle-trained Al Wakrah, also owned by Al Shaqab Racing, taking second.

Elsewhere on the card, Wathnan Racing’s French Duke showed all his battling qualities to win the Coral Daily Rewards Shaker Handicap over 12 furlongs.

Having been hampered early on when sixth in the King George V Handicap at Royal Ascot, James Doyle’s mount enjoyed an untroubled passage as he got up to beat Lord Of Love by a neck. Gallantly was three and three-quarter lengths further back in third.

Wearing a hood for the first time, the Roger Varian-trained winner was breaking his duck at the fifth attempt.

Varian said: “‘I thought French Duke did very well because he is still learning the game. He is a bit raw and still a bit immature. After Ascot, where he ran his race upside down, we really wanted to see him finish today. In doing so, off a medium gallop, we were probably a bit further back than James wanted to be.

“The horse is still learning and he showed toughness in the final furlong. I think I would upgrade the performance because for me he is still not the finished article.”

Raqiya finished second by a head in the G3 Visit Qatar Oak Tree Stakes but was awarded the seven-furlong prize following a stewards’ enquiry.

The Owen Burrows-trained Raqiya (7/1) was narrowly held by 5/2 favourite Jabaara at the line, who at that point appeared to have pulled off a quickfire double for Roger Varian and James Doyle.

However, Jim Crowley had been forced to pull Raqiya off the far rail as Jabaara came across to take that position, and then closed down the leader near the finishing post. The stewards looked at the incident and decided Raqiya would have won had Jabaara not made the manoeuvre. Outsider Ziggy’s Dream finished third, beaten half a length.

Trainer Mick Appleby won the G3 Jaeger-LeCoultre Molecomb Stakes for the second year running as 25/1 shot Big Mojo followed in the hoofprints of Big Evs.

Appleby not only saddled the winner but also the third Mr Lightside, with the pair being split by 2/1 favourite Aesterius. The distances were three quarters of a length and a head.

Big Mojo carries the colours of RP Racing Ltd, the same owners of Big Evs – who went on from Goodwood to win at the Breeders’ Cup and is set to run in Friday’s G2 King George Qatar Stakes.

Ridden today by Silvestre de Sousa, Big Mojo had finished runner-up in a Beverley maiden earlier this month.

Appleby said: “I said I couldn’t split Big Mojo and Mr Lightside – I worked them together on Saturday and couldn’t pick between them. I just said they will both be in the frame.

“They are both very and wouldn’t be far behind Big Evs either as two-year-olds. They could both go to America for the Breeders’ Cup but Big Mojo will go to the Gimcrack first. The owner [Paul Teasdale] wants his wife to do the speech as the winning owner at the Gimcrack dinner. To be fair this was our main target with him."

Sheikh Joaan Al Thani’s Al Shaqab Racing was on the scoresheet again as Al Anoud posted a game success in the British Stallion Studs EBF Fillies’ Handicap over 10 furlongs.

Ridden by Hector Crouch for trainer Ralph Beckett, Al Anoud raced in the first two throughout and galloped out strongly when challenged by rivals inside the final furlong.

Sent off at 7/2, the Kingman filly beat the 9/4 favourite Power Of Destiny by a head, with Warda Jamila, who briefly disputed for the lead two furlongs out, having to settle for third.

Simon & Ed Crisford have a quick two-year-old on their hands judging by the victory of Coto De Caza in the British Stallion Studs EBF Alice Keppel Fillies’ Conditions Stakes.

Sent off the 2/1 favourite, Coto De Caza became a first Qatar Goodwood Festival winner for jockey Harry Davies, who guided his mount to a two-and-a-half-length verdict. Storm Call was second, half a length ahead of third-placed Blue Zodiac.

Teaming up with Blue Prince for the first time, jockey David Probert landed the final race on day two of the Qatar Goodwood Festival, the HKJC World Pool Handicap.

Trained by David Evans, three-year-old Blue Prince (14/1) raced among the 18 runners for much of the seven-furlong contest, but found a nice turn of foot when asked and had no problem in holding off the 4/1 favourite Billyjoh by a length and a quarter.