William Buick believes the chances of Notable Speech tasting glory in the Al Basti Equiworld, Dubai July Cup at Newmarket on Saturday hinge on how he handles the nature of the early pace on his sprinting debut.
Last year’s 2000 Guineas hero and Sussex Stakes winner will revert to six furlongs for the first time in his career in the Group One test, for which he was supplemented by connections on Monday.
However, while confident the Charlie Appleby-trained son of Dubawi has the speed to cope with the drop back in trip the two-time champion jockey feels that his finishing position will be determined on how he handles the early stages of the race.
Buick said: "He has only ever raced over a mile. He is a high class miler, but he is a very speedy miler, which good milers usually are. I’ve always felt that he could drop back in trip, certainly to seven furlongs.
“I know Charlie has earmarked the City Of York as one of his possible targets. We won’t know fully until we try dropping back to six furlongs for the July Cup, but I think it is worth a try.
“He is a horse with loads of speed, and if he can adapt to that early pace and be within himself, he will be up there with a very good shot.”
Although Notable Speech could only finish fourth on his latest start in the Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot, the 36-year-old Buick insists that performance was not a true reflection of his talents.
He added: “He was unlucky at Ascot. It was such a nightmare of a race as they went so slowly and we were in a pocket. It was one of those races you couldn’t take too much out of it. Sadly we just had to put a line through it and move on.
“Once the dust settled Charlie and the team thought long and hard about this race for him and here we are. It is a different thing to what he has done, but if you go back to the 2000 Guineas he won that was a strongly-run race.”
And while Appleby also has Symbol Of Honour in the race Buick admits it was a fairly straightforward decision as to who he was going to ride after the decision was made to supplement Notable Speech.
He added: “Symbol Of Honour is really building up a good profile and he was real tough when he won the Sandy Lane. Notable Speech being the horse he is, as a 2000 Guineas and Sussex Stakes winner, he has a higher profile and he was the horse I was always going to ride."
Desert out to remain unbeaten
Before getting the leg-up aboard Notable Speech, the dad-of-two will partner recent Sandown Park scorer Saba Desert in the Group Two bet365 Superlative Stakes, which Buick and Appleby teamed up to claim last year with Ancient Truth.
He added: “Saba Desert won well at Sandown, but it looks a good Superlative, but it is always full of potential. He looks a nice horse and he should have improved for Sandown. I think we will know where we are come Sandown afternoon.
“Charlie always earmarks this as a race where he wants to run his nicer two-year-olds. It is not hard to come to the conclusion that he is one of the nicer ones.
“He has only had the one run so he is a horse that has got plenty of improvement left in him. He took on experienced horses at Sandown, and I thought he did it very well, and he couldn’t do any more than what he did.
“It looks a substantial field and it looks like it will be a truer run race than at Sandown Park. It is always a good race and the winner of Superlative usually goes on to do good things and they usually end up in the Dewhurst."
While excited about seeing what Notable Speech can do on his sprinting bow, Buick hopes 'rock-solid filly' Cinderella's Dream can gain what he insists would be a deserved first Group One in Britain in the Tattersalls Falmouth Stakes.
And he believes her chances of exacting revenge on Crimson Advocate, who she finished second behind in the Duke Of Cambridge Stakes at the Royal meeting, will be enhanced by her return to racing on a straight track.
He added: “She had a penalty at Ascot and she ran a very good race. She knuckled down and battled on well for second. I thought the winner won well, and she is probably an improving filly, but we gave her three pounds and that is never easy.
"I do think she might be suited better coming back to a straight track as she was so impressive in the Dahlia, but that was over nine furlongs. I do think the Falmouth will suit her and this was always the plan ever since she won the Dahlia. She is a high class filly.
"Being level weights will even things up and back on a straight track I think she has probably more in her favour than at Ascot.
“She deserves it (winning a Group One in Britain). She has been such a good filly. She never ever runs a bad race and she always runs in the good races whether that is here or in America. It would be lovely for her to tick that off and we will do our best.
“She has possibly strengthened up a little bit from to four, but she is a rock solid filly and she is very genuine and has all the zest you need for racing. She doesn’t have to do one set thing as she has won her races from various positions. She has got a good turn off foot, she stays the mile well, and we know she gets a little bit further, so she is very versatile.”
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