Notable Speech powers to Lockinge Stakes win, boosts Queen Anne bid
Heavy late money was right: Notable Speech swept the Lockinge in 1:36.27 and turned the Queen Anne into his summer target.
The money knew what it was looking at before the flag fell at Newbury, and Notable Speech justified every ounce of support with a decisive Lockinge Stakes win that reset the summer mile picture. Sent off the 2/1 favourite in a 10-runner Group 1 over 1 mile on good ground, Godolphin’s star quickened clear to beat More Thunder by two lengths, with Zeus Olympios third, in a time of 1:36.27.
That finish mattered because it was not just a smart win on the clock. It was a visual reminder of what makes Notable Speech such a dangerous miler when the race has enough pace to let him wind up late. William Buick called him “absolutely top-class miler” and “explosive,” and the run matched that verdict: once the opening opened up, he produced the sort of change of gear that can decide a Royal Ascot Group 1 in a matter of strides.
The timing was just as important as the margin. Notable Speech arrived at Newbury off a troubled fourth in the Maker’s Mark Mile at Keeneland on April 10, and Charlie Appleby had already pointed to the possibility of a rebound after that trip. Instead of raising more questions, the Lockinge answered them. Godolphin said the victory was meant to deliver a record-extending 10th win in the race for the stable, and the result also underlined how much class remains in a horse who has now won the 2024 2,000 Guineas, Sussex Stakes, Woodbine Mile and 2025 Breeders’ Cup Mile.
That background gives the Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot on June 16, 2026, a much sharper edge. Appleby said that would be the next target, and the market reacted immediately, with live betting shortening Notable Speech to 6-4 after the Lockinge. For a horse Godolphin says made history as the first since 1938 to win the 2,000 Guineas without racing at two, this was more than another Group 1. It was a summer statement, and a reminder that the elite mile division still runs through Charlie Appleby when his best horses arrive in form.
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