Notable Speech returns to action in a must-watch edition of the Maker's Mark Mile at Keeneland

Turf champion to launch 5-year-old season in Grade 1 company, meeting a deep field while pointing toward another Breeders’ Cup bid

Notable Speech returns to action at Keeneland / WOODBINE

Champion Turf Male Notable Speech (GB) will waste no time in his return to action, launching his 5-year-old campaign this Saturday in a demanding renewal of the $650,000 Maker’s Mark Mile (G1) at Keeneland.

The strategy comes as no surprise for the son of Dubawi, who built his 2024 championship on high-level performances. Following a consistent campaign in top-tier turf events, he sealed his title with back-to-back victories in the Woodbine Mile (G1) and the Breeders' Cup Mile (G1) at Del Mar.

A Godolphin homebred, Notable Speech has competed at the Grade 1 level in 11 consecutive starts. He now enters his 12th such engagement seeking his third straight G1 victory and his third consecutive win in North American mile contests. As usual, he will be reunited with jockey William Buick, who travels specifically from Europe for the mount.

The tandem of trainer Charlie Appleby and Buick is well-acquainted with this winner’s circle; they captured the 2024 edition with Master of The Seas (IRE), another Godolphin runner by Dubawi.

The "Boys in Blue" will also send out Aomori City (FR). The G2-winning son of Oasis Dream is no stranger to the U.S. turf, having finished third in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G1). In 2026, he arrives from a campaign in Meydan, where he placed in the Zabeel Mile (G2).

“It’s a program the trainer likes for his best horses,” explained Appleby’s assistant, Chris Connett. “They’ve shown they adapt well to racing in the United States, and that can give them a certain edge.”

That edge could prove pivotal later this year when Keeneland hosts the Breeders' Cup, a venue where the team aims to extend its dominance.

However, the challenge will be significant. The field features the return of Deterministic (Liam's Map), trained by Miguel Clement. He ended 2025 in top form with three consecutive stakes wins, including the Manhattan (G1) and the Fourstardave (G1) at Saratoga. Since moving to the grass, the colt has markedly improved his performance.

Another major contender is Rhetorical (Not This Time), winner of the Turf Mile (G1) at Keeneland and fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Mile. He makes his seasonal debut for trainer Will Walden.

The field is completed by South African standout One Stripe (One World), runner-up in the Pegasus World Cup Turf (G1) at Gulfstream Park, and G1 winners Troubleshooting (Not This Time)—winner of the Franklin-Simpson (G1)—and Zulu Kingdom (IRE), who captured the American Turf (G1) at Churchill Downs for trainer Chad Brown.

With a field loaded with class and rising stars, the Maker’s Mark Mile promises to be an early-season highlight. For Notable Speech, it will be an immediate test of his status as the global standard-bearer on the turf.