'It was a mess' - nightmare comeback for Notable Speech as Godolphin star finishes a luckless fourth in Maker's Mark Mile

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Notable Speech suffered a luckless comeback defeat after he endured a nightmare passage in the Maker's Mark Mile at Keeneland behind Zulu Kingdom.

The 2024 2,000 Guineas hero was sent off the 11-10 favourite to make a successful comeback, having ended last year with a win in the Breeders' Cup Mile at Del Mar. However, he had a dramatic first start of the year.

Settled at the rear of the field by William Buick, the pair looked for gaps to burst through after turning for home, but the door was slammed on them several times. Notable Speech flew home to finish a close fourth, with his Godolphin stablemate Aomori City sixth.

Trainer Charlie Appleby said: "I hope I don't have much traffic like there on the way home."

Buick said: "Well, that was a mess."

It was a second Grade 1 success for Zulu Kingdom and a third Maker's Mark Mile win for trainer Chad Brown. It was also a major landmark for Brown, as it was his 3,000th winner.

He told Bloodhorse: "This milestone gives me a chance to reflect and appreciate the horses, team members, owners, and jockeys that have really contributed to it. 

"If you don't have all those things in place, if you're missing any one component, you can't have an accomplishment like this. It's remarkable to think back about all the individual contributions and sacrifices made – a lot of loyalty, a lot of consistency, a lot of hard work."

Australia: Sir Delius strikes as superstar mare is beat for the first time

Sir Delius inflicted the first defeat of superstar mare Autumn Glow's career with an impressive win in the Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Randwick.

A 1.3 million gns purchase in October 2024, having previously been trained by Jean-Claude Rouget in France for Coolmore, Sir Delius finished third on his last two starts for Gai Waterhouse and Adrain Bott. 

However, he bounced back to his brilliant best by taking the highlight of The Championships, holding off the fast-finishing Lindermann.

Winning rider Craig Williams said: "I came in two weeks ago and partnered him in a piece of work and I said he's going really well, but wasn't fast enough. A week later I sat on him again and he was. The team have done an amazing job.

"In the spring, he was flying, he was airborne. The only time I'd felt that again was on Tuesday morning when I worked him. What an amazing horse and a great performance."

Autumn Glow had been unbeaten in her first 11 starts, but could only finish third on her first try at the 1m2f trip.

Dubai Honour, the 2023 Queen Elizabeth Stakes winner, ran another admirable race in Australia for William Haggas and Tom Marquand in fourth.

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