Team Godolphin enjoyed a weekend to remember at Newmarket, thanks to the exploits of Desert Flower and Shadow Of Light in the juvenile Group 1 contests of the bet365 Fillies’ Mile and the Darley Dewhurst Stakes. As home to two of the most impressive two-year-olds of 2024, the Charlie Appleby yard has much to look forward to in 2025, with live challengers stacking up in the Classics.
In addition to a quality squad of youngsters, Appleby boasts plenty of strength amongst the older horses, and this week brought the news that three of his three-year-old stars from the current campaign will return for another crack at the top prizes in 2025 – which is great news for racing fans in an age where so many star performers are retired to a life at stud at the earliest opportunity. Focus may soon switch almost exclusively to the jumps, but when the flat returns, the following trio will be among Godolphin’s leading lights.
Notable Speech
| Date | Race | Position | Earnings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8/9/24 | Prix du Moulin | Fifth | £11,191 |
| 31/7/24 | Sussex Stakes | Winner | £567,100 |
| 18/6/24 | St James’s Palace Stakes | Seventh | £0 |
| 4/5/24 | 2000 Guineas | Winner | £283,550 |
| 6/4/24 | Conditions Stakes | Winner | £15,462 |
| 21/2/24 | Conditions Stakes | Winner | £30,924 |
| 27/1/24 | Maiden Stakes | Winner | £3,780 |
Where Coolmore had the late Galileo, Godolphin has Dubawi. The son of the great Dubai Millennium is the sire of all three returning colts. First up, is this year’s 2,000 Guineas hero, Notable Speech.
Only making his debut in January 2024, this impressive chestnut made rapid strides to land three successive events at Kempton. Despite that perfect record, Notable Speech was a largely unconsidered 16/1 chance for the 2,000 Guineas but put his rivals to the sword with a scintillating turn of foot inside the final furling.
That effort was followed by an inexplicable flop in the St James’s Palace Stakes, but he bounced back in some style to claim Sussex Stakes gold at Glorious Goodwood. Last time out, he made his first trip abroad for the Prix du Moulin, but found the soft ground at Longchamp all against him to finish a laboured fifth.
Given that preference for quicker turf, connections have opted to swerve the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes on Champions Day in favour of a tilt at the Breeders’ Cup Mile – a race Appleby has won in each of the past three seasons. After that, Notable Speech will put his feet up for the winter ahead of an assault on the major Spring and Summer prizes of 2025.
Arabian Crown
| Date | Race | Position | Earnings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 26/4/24 | Classic Trial | Winner | £48,204 |
| 14/10/23 | Zetland Stakes | Winner | £34,026 |
| 16/8/23 | Stonehenge Stakes | Winner | £22,684 |
| 27/7/23 | Maiden Stakes | Winner | £5,400 |
| 7/7/23 | Novice Stakes | Third | £1,814 |
Unlike Notable Speech, racing fans knew all about Arabian Crown headed into the 2024 campaign. Breaking his duck at the second time of asking in a Sandown Maiden, the strapping colt stepped up to land the Listed Stonehenge Stakes and rounded off his season with a five-and-a-half length romp in the Group 3 Zetland Stakes at Newmarket.
Fast forward to 2024, and Arabian Crown returned with an utterly dominant front-running display in the bet365 Classic Trial at Sandown – an effort which saw him rocket to the head of the market for the Epsom Derby.
Unfortunately, a mouthwatering clash with City Of Troy failed to materialise, with Arabian Crown suffering a setback which kept him off the track for the Summer months.
Happily, the colt is now reportedly back in good form at home and will get his chance to make up for lost time – with the Listed James Seymour Stakes at Newmarket pencilled in for his potential return. If that goes well, Arabian Crown will head off to Dubai to tackle the City Of Gold before bidding to become Appleby’s fourth winner of the Sheema Classic. Fingers crossed; this hugely talented performer retains his ability as his presence would add significantly to the 2025 season.
Ancient Wisdom
| Date | Race | Position | Earnings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11/7/24 | Bahrain Trophy | Winner | £113,420 |
| 1/6/24 | Epsom Derby | Eighth | £0 |
| 16/5/24 | Dante Stakes | Second | £41,323 |
| 28/10/23 | Futurity Trophy | Winner | £127,576 |
| 14/10/23 | Autumn Stakes | Winner | £34,026 |
| 29/7/23 | Pat Eddery Stakes | Third | £5,380 |
| 24/6/23 | Novice Stakes | Winner | £4,320 |
| 9/6/23 | Novice Stakes | Winner | £5,400 |
Ending the 2023 season on a mark of 115, Ancient Wisdom was just about the pick of the Appleby-trained runners stepping into their Classic season. Achieving that lofty mark thanks to four wins in five starts – including the Group 1 Futurity Trophy at Doncaster – Ancient Wisdom disappointed in his first two outings of 2024. His six-length second to Economics in the Dante Stakes looks better in hindsight, but a 16-length eighth of 16 in the Derby left the colt with questions to answer.
Lowering his sights for the Group 3 Bahrain Trophy Stakes, the stamina-laden star bounced back to something like his best to comfortably dispatch his rivals.
Having cruised home in that 1m5f event, a shot at the St Leger looked like the obvious next step, but he has instead been kept back to tackle the Grosser Allianz Preis von Bayern on November 10. Ancient Wisdom will likely start a warm order for that German Group 1 contest, after which he may enjoy an extended break. Appearing to relish a testing surface, expect to see this one back later than his stablemates ahead of an Autumn 2025 campaign.