By Peter Moore at Newbury Saturday 16th May 2026
Charlie Appleby claimed another Group 1 with a brilliant success in the BoyleSports Lockinge Stakes with Notable Speech at Newbury on Saturday.
A double for the yard at Newmarket on Friday ended a winless run of 29, stretching back to Opera Ballo’s victory at Sandown on April 24, but any concern regarding that record did not seem apparent as the five-year-old, who was sent off 2-1 favourite, showed a sharp turn of foot under William Buick to deny More Thunder and Zeus Olympios.
Appleby said “I’ve never been worried [about the form]. It feels like a sign of weakness if you start to worry, but I’ve said to the team we won’t change what we’ve done for the last 15 years, because it’s been working. It’s a model we know. We had to keep a steady hand because I had confidence the horses looked well and were well in themselves, and I wasn’t going to change things.
“Of course it was nice to have those couple of winners on Friday to springboard us into the weekend, but it wouldn’t have worried me if they hadn’t won. I knew this horse was 110 per cent ready.”
Notable Speech added back-to-back Grade 1s at Woodbine and Del Mar towards the back end of last year, and Appleby expressed his delight at being able to keep him in training for another season.
He said: “I have to thank the team for allowing us to keep him in training. Sometimes it’s a big ask to keep them going as a five-year-old, but we wanted to allow him to show what we’ve seen at home, and what we felt he’s got, and today we’ve seen the real Notable Speech. There aren’t too many horses that can quicken like him.”
Next step for Notable Speech will be Royal Ascot and the Queen Ann, a race he finished fourth in last year.
Kalpana got here year off to the perfect start with victory in the Group 3 Aston Park Stakes with a game performance to defeat West Wind Blows by a neck.
Trainer Andrew Balding said the defence of her crown on British Champions Day will likely be her end-of-season target, but an appearance at Royal Ascot will come first.
“”I think the Fillies & Mares will be the big plan.”He added . “We tried the Arc last year and it didn’t work out, but I don’t think any horse has won three consecutive races on Champions Day, so that would be a nice target.”
“The next stop would be something at Royal Ascot. Both the Prince of Wales’s and Hardwicke will be available, and we’ll decide nearer the time. If the ground was very soft, it might make the Prince of Wales’s more attractive.”
Brian Meehan registered his first victory of the season at the 36th attempt, when Esna under Ryan Moore took the Listed Race fillies trial stakes by half a length from Sacred Ground.
She holds an Oaks entry but Meehan, is favouring a return to France. “A mile and a half might be out of her stamina limit,” he said. “A mile and a quarter is more comfortable with her, so we’ll regroup now. The Prix de Diane is there. It’s a speed track and she travelled well today.
“She caught me by surprise at Newmarket. I was expecting a little bit more as she’d been away for a racecourse gallop, but I looked at her this week and thought it was the best she’s looked all spring. She’s taken a little longer to come to herself.”
Song Of The Clyde produced a career best performance to land the Class 1 Highclere Castle Gin Carnarvon Stakes with Hector Crouch in the plate for the Middleham Park syndicate at 18-1.
The three-year-old, who won a valuable sales race at York last year, is likely to head for the Group 1 Commonwealth Cup, and trainer Clive Cox is relishing that test.
He said: “I’m very happy and we can look forward to even better days than last year. It’s exciting and I don’t see why we wouldn’t roll the dice with Royal Ascot. He’s got every reason he should be there and I’d be disappointed if he wasn’t.”
Trainer David Menuisier hailed Lost Boys “his best three year old colt” after the chestnut made it a hat trick of wins by landing the Class 2 London Gold Cup.
The Frenchman had to survive a long agonising wait of over twenty minutes after the stewards called an enquiry. After it was announced the placings remain unaltered, Menuisier wiped his brow and was a relieved man and was left to ponder the next race for the colt.