Notable Speech Rebounds to Take City of York Stakes

Notable Speech (GB) streaked clear to claim his sixth group 1 victory with an impressive effort in the City of York Stakes (G1) Aug. 22 at York Racecourse. Trainer Charlie Appleby confirmed his stable star will likely now head straight to the Oct. 31 Breeders' Cup Mile (G1T) at Keeneland, a race he won last year at Del Mar. Lake Forest (GB), whose trainer William Haggas had expressed fears about the softening ground, finished second, while Marvelman (IRE) held on for third after a front-running ride from P.J. McDonald. Speaking to ITV, Appleby said: "Coming here today, we felt that the last couple of weeks he has really come into his own. Full credit to the team at home who have done so much fantastic work with him. The plan was obviously for him to be ridden more positively than normally. "I did get a little bit worried when they crossed over. I thought, 'Will, you're going to need to track something now.' But Will knows this horse inside out. There was never going to be a horse in the field that could quicken like him." Winning rider William Buick added: "A great training performance. I thought he was great coming here today and the horse showed what he can do. It didn't happen at Royal Ascot but he was back today and let's hope we can finish on a high."