Gm, Equinauts

Last weeks headline act came at our home course Newbury, where NOTABLE SPEECH looked a monster to both land the Lockinge and kibosh any suggestions that Appleby’s yard were under the weather.

Let’s dive in.

HEADLINE ROUNDUP

💙THEY’RE BACK!

Up until Friday, the Charlie Appleby yard really did look to be struggling, with many of his short-priced runners easy to take on — and easy to beat. Yard form is a very real thing, and any fans of the boys in blue had every right to be a little concerned.

But then — BANG. All of a sudden, a two-year-old goes in at HQ. Then another winner. And suddenly you’re forced to revisit their entries, because you can’t just dismiss horses from one of the most powerful stables in the sport.

When NOTABLE SPEECH lined up for Saturday’s Lockinge, he brought standout form into the race, but was still easy to back — the lingering hangover effect from a string of ‘good things’ getting turned over. Readily available at 4/1 all morning, he was smashed into 2/1, proving plenty of judges were expecting a turnaround in the yard’s fortunes.

And boy, were they rewarded.

He travelled strongly throughout before asserting inside the final furlong to beat MORE THUNDER, with ZEUS OLYMPIOS staying on for third and DANCING GEMINI running well fourth.

The performance firmly re-established NOTABLE SPEECH among the worlds best milers after a year which saw him have to travel overseas to get his head back on track. Buick always looked confident, tracking the pace before producing his mount at exactly the right moment.

Charlie Appleby produced a really interesting comment post-race:

“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."

Bullish!

Elsewhere on the Newbury card, KALPANA enhanced her reputation in the Aston Park Stakes for Andrew Balding, Colin Keane and Juddmonte. The filly showed class on her seasonal debut to keep WEST WIND BLOWS at bay when she wouldn’t have been 100% wound up (as better targets lay ahead!).

Big.

💰 DAN’S WINNING AGAIN

Dan Skelton and agent Ryan Mahon made the headline purchase at Saturday’s Arqana Grand Steeple Sale at Auteuil, landing leading four-year-old hurdler ISAAC Of YORK for €500,000.

The gelding, already proven at Grade level in France and we imagine he’ll make his debut October time when the jumps season gets going again.

The sale, which returned to an in-person format for the first time in several years, proved selective, with only four of 14 lots changing hands. Turnover reached €1.165 million, with an average price of €291,250.

Another notable purchase came when Olly Murphy and agent Nat Barnett secured the exciting Nils Holgerson for €340,000 after outbidding the Skelton-Mahon team. The son of IVANHOWE won on his only start in France and hails from the family of a Champion Chaser. Barnett described him as a horse he had tracked closely and believes he showed something special on debut… Will need to special to bag Olly Murphy his first Cheltenham winner!

DARBY O’GILL, a son of WALK IN THE PARK and the first foal out of Cheltenham Festival heroine SHATTERED LOVE, also attracted strong interest. After showing promise in France this spring, he was sold to Jerry McGrath for €260,000 on behalf of an existing client, with a decision on whether he will be trained in Britain or Ireland still to come.

🐎MP’S MOVING

Affordability checks have been headlines every day for weeks now. We’re not sure what’s suddenly caused the hot focus but pressure is mounting on the government to do something.

MPs representing 19 British racecourses are urging culture secretary Lisa Nandy to halt the planned rollout. Racing leaders fear the measures — officially termed “financial risk assessments” — could cost the sport up to £250 million over the next five years, while bookmakers argue the checks are far from the “frictionless” process previously promised by ministers… which is true.

The cross-party group of MPs warned there has been insufficient parliamentary scrutiny and transparency surrounding the Gambling Commission’s pilot scheme. They also highlighted fears that tougher regulation could drive bettors towards the growing illegal gambling market rather than licensed operators.

Is it all a bit too late though?

The financial impact has got to be hitting the industry but purely from a punters perspective, getting a bet on is an odious task.

We don’t think these affordability checks will ever go away, but the current system is broken. The whole gabling industry needs a re-boot.

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