The accolades for a brilliant winner would arrive in good time, but the story of the Qipco 2,000 Guineas centred on the apology.
‘Sorry about that, everyone,’ said Aidan O’Brien and it all felt very appropriate. Newmarket had been ablaze all day, a crowd of more than 15,000 tingling with expectation that City Of Troy might come up the Rowley Mile like a Formula One car would roar away from a family saloon.
Nobody was more hopeful than O’Brien, a trainer whose pre-race praise for the 4-6 favourite was liberal and lavish. His expression — startled and saddened — as he tried to fathom how City Of Troy had trailed in a slovenly ninth behind 16-1 shot Notable Speech spoke volumes.
‘He got upset in the stalls, which he had never done before,’ said O’Brien, which seemed curious as City Of Troy was last to load and did not seem unruly.
‘He was in the middle of the pace, but just flattened out. We’ll see. It’s almost too bad to be true, there’s no doubt about that.
Notable Speech (R) claimed a surprise victory in the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket
‘Am I shocked? Of course, absolutely. We wouldn’t have been here if we thought he was going to do that, would we? Listen, that’s the way. It’s not his running, we’ll find out what was wrong. Everything was straight-forward with him. We’ll take it on the chin. We’ll try not to let it happen again.’
It is nothing new for an odds-on shot with a colossal reputation to be turned over in the 2,000 Guineas, but something about this felt different.
The moment Ryan Moore, his jockey, crouched a little lower and moved his elbows vigorously at halfway, you could hear expectation go pop.
None of this, though, should detract from what Notable Speech — superbly prepared by Godolphin trainer Charlie Appleby and ridden by William Buick — did to the field. We came here hoping to see an emphatic winner and that is exactly what we got.
True, his preparation was unconventional. No 2,000 Guineas winner has ever come to Newmarket on the back of three runs around Kempton’s all-weather track, but Appleby knows the time of day when he makes his entries and does not run anything to make up the numbers.
His confidence had grown that Notable Speech would have a squeak of being involved in the battle after impressing experienced rider Paul Eddery — brother of the late, great Pat — in a recent workout and so it proved.
Notable Speech beat Rosallion by a length and a half, with Haatem third on Saturday
Once Buick asked the bonny chestnut to streak away, the response was emphatic.
Filling second and third places were Rosallion and Haatem, both of whom are trained by Richard Hannon. He seemed in a daze that both his horses, who had ran such fantastic races, had found one too good having left City Of Troy legless.
‘Paul is 60 and has sat on enough good horses in his life,’ said Appleby, winning the race for the second time in three years.
‘He got off him and said to me: “The favourite will to have to be good to beat him”.
‘From that moment on, I’ve been trying to keep a lid on it. Full credit to all the team.’ That team had been in the doldrums at times last year, with questions over what horses they would have to run for Sheik Mohammed, Godolphin’s owner, in the big three-year-old races.
The odds-on favourite City Of Troy, ridden by Ryan Moore, faded quickly and finished ninth
Here they are now, with the first Classic in the bag and also Arabian Crown, who is favourite for the Epsom Derby on June 1.
‘Sometimes you can’t turn a sow’s ear into a silk purse,’ said Appleby. ‘But this gives us a chance of getting back up the table again.’
Godolphin will certainly do that if this colt, who may head to the Irish 2,000 Guineas next, lives up to his rider’s assessment.
‘Notable Speech is a great horse,’ said Buick, winning this Classic for the first time. ‘He’s a proper miler and he’s certainly the fastest miler I’ve ever ridden — I think he can do things other horses can’t with his turn of foot.’
