'There's plenty of strength in depth and it will be a great watch' - Charlie Appleby relishing Notable Speech's Mile history bid

Charlie Appleby will be hoping Notable Speech can help him make history on Saturday night as he bids to become the most successful trainer in Breeders’ Cup Mile history, an achievement that would arguably be made more remarkable by doing so with four different horses in four consecutive years.

This year’s representative qualified by landing the 'win and you’re in' Sussex Stakes back in August. As with his 2,000 Guineas success, he showed an excellent turn of foot at Goodwood and that can be a key component when it comes to getting a run in the short straight at Del Mar. The soft ground was against him in Paris last time and this test should be more to his liking.

Fillies have a respectable record in this race with Uni (2019), Tepin (2015) and Goldikova (2008, 2009, 2010) winning five of the last 16 renewals and in receipt of both the age and sex allowances, Porta Fortuna, has to be high on any shortlist. The daughter of Caravaggio arrives on the back of three wins on the spin at Group 1 level against her own sex since her narrow defeat in the 1,000 Guineas. She is the right type for this contest with an uncomplicated way of running and she has shown a good attitude in tight finishes time and time again.

From the home team, Chad Brown bids for another renewal after Uni’s 2019 success and he probably has the strongest hand from the US-based trainers. Chili Flag likes to leave it late and may need some luck in running from stall two, a task that’s been made more difficult with Ramatuelle now a non-runner from stall one. Stablemate Carl Spackler probably has stronger claims if he can get a prominent position from stall 12 which is not impossible against these rivals.
Analysis by Phill Anderson

What they say

Charlie Appleby, trainer of Notable Speech
He will be comfortable regardless of the pace of the race. I’m happy with stall six – I didn’t want to be drawn any wider round here – and it will hopefully give Will [Buick] all the options he needs. If the pace is on, he can drop in and ride a race and if he feels he needs to be on the heels of the leaders, that draw will give him options. All the signs have been good so far. He’s an exciting horse and probably the highest-profile three-year-old we've brought over, being a 2,000 Guineas and Sussex Stakes winner. There’s plenty of strength in depth this year, so it will be a great race to watch.

Donnacha O'Brien, trainer of Porta Fortuna
All is good and the team are happy with how she travelled. The track and ground should pose no issues and she ran a brilliant race to be second in the Juvenile Fillies Turf at Santa Anita last year, so hopefully she can go one better.

Tim Yakteen, trainer of Johannes
This was the ultimate goal. He's doing very well. He's a very tactical horse and I think that's one of his greatest attributes. That leads to his handiness and his success on track.

Chad Brown, trainer of Carl Spackler
The draw [12 of 12] will be very challenging. The one thing he has going for him is he has good gate speed. You’re going to have to use a little fuel there. He’s in the mix.
Reporting by Andrew Dietz

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