Charlie Appleby’s remarkable record in the Breeders’ Cup Mile continued whenNotable Speech avenged his defeat from twelve months ago courtesy of a daringinside William Buick ride.

A winner of the 2000 Guineas and Sussex Stakes as a three-year-old, Notable Speech looked back to his best when an unlucky runner-up in the Prix Jacques le Marois before readily returning to winning ways with a smooth success in the Woodbine Mile last time out. 

With that confidence-boosting victory under his belt, the four-year-old son of Dubawi travelled powerfully on the inside fence before producing an electrifying turn of foot through the cutaway to pick up the running. From there on in, victory always looked to be going in one direction and Notable Speech bounded on down the Del Mar straight to record a commanding success under William Buick.  

Michael McCarthy's Formidable Man finished a creditable second, with the Lion In Winter third, while Frankie Dettori could only manage to finish sixth on Japanese challenger Argine, who will go down in history as his last ever US ride. 

"He's a horse we've always thought highly of," said Appleby, who was winning the race for the fourth time in the last five years. "He had a great trip round there and was comfortable the whole way. He was following the right horse in The Lion In Winter and we were always waiting for the cutaway. He had to get on that fence and ride that rail, but he's the right horse to do that with.  

 "Last year, he was the highest-profile horse we ever brought here but he's tailor-made for this track. The experience around Woodbine was the making of him to come into a race like today.  

"Will's ride around there was copybook. If you could ever write a script on how to go around there, that was how. He's got that electric turn-of-foot that we've seen throughout his career. No one has a turn-of-foot like him and he knows where the winning line is." 

Appleby, who was also winning at the Breeders' Cup for the twelfth time, confirmed that Notable Speech would remain in training at five, with a tilt at the Queen Anne Stakes a likely target.  

He said: "Next year he will probably go the Lockinge to blow away the cobwebs and then we'll go to the Queen Anne." 

Buick added: "He was full of confidence right from the first jump. He was a little bit aggressive with me and had his game face on. He was in a beautiful rhythm in a good spot and from the quarter pole nothing was going as well as him, he had that instant kick. 

"I've been everything on this horse, a hero, a villain, but to be honest with you Charlie always fills you with great confidence and when your trainer gives you the confidence to do what is right by a horse in a race it helps. 

"I had to wait, wait, wait and he broke better today than we hoped. We were fearful of him breaking the stalls as he did in the Woodbine Mile, but he broke better. 

"We were two rows back but were always going to ride the inside. When it comes off it looks great, but when it doesn't you are a villain. 

"He's a very good horse, a 2000 Guineas winner, a Sussex Stakes winner and should have been a Prix Jacques le Marois winner in Deauville this year."