Champion Turf Male Notable Speech will waste no time returning to top competition when he opens his 5-year-old season April 10 in a very deep edition of the $650,000 Maker's Mark Mile (G1T) at Keeneland.
That approach has been par for the course for the son of Dubawi, who knocked down last year's championship behind year-ending victories in the Woodbine Mile Stakes (G1T) in September and the Breeders' Cup Mile (G1T) in November at Del Mar. Since beginning his career with three straight wins in maiden and weight-for-age races, Godolphin homebred Notable Speech has started in 11 straight group 1 or grade 1 races.
Now entered for a 12th straight test at the top level, the 2024 Two Thousand Guineas (G1) winner will try for his third straight grade 1 victory overall and third straight at the mile distance in North America. Regular rider William Buick will be in from Europe to ride.
Appleby and Buick teamed to win the 2024 Mile with Godolphin's Master of The Seas.
Godolphin and Appleby also will send out group 2 winner Aomori City, who previously raced in North America in 2024 when third in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1T). The son of Oasis Dream twice has started in the Middle East this year, earning a placing in the Zabeel Mile (G2T) in January at Meydan.
Aomori City and Notable Speech will follow in the footsteps of previous runners trained by Appleby.
"It is a program he likes to take with his top horses," said Appleby assistant Chris Connett, who is overseeing preparations for the duo. "They have shown they can handle North American racing well and maybe get a little bit of a home-field advantage."
That advantage would apply later in the year during the two-day Breeders' Cup Oct. 30-31 at Keeneland.
Notable Speech gave Appleby his third Breeders' Cup Mile winner in the past four years. The two previous winners both started the following season in the Maker's Mark Mile.
Also making his first start of 2026 is Deterministic, who closed out 2025 in top form with three straight graded stakes wins, including back-to-back grade 1 scores in the Manhattan Stakes (G1T) and Fourstardave Stakes (G1T) at Saratoga Race Course.
Trained by Miguel Clement for owners St. Elias Stable, Ken Lagone, Steven Duncker, and Vicarage Stable, Deterministic captured the Gotham Stakes (g3) on the dirt in 2024 but has taken things to another level since being switched to turf.
Gary Barber, Cheyenne Stable, and Wachtel Stable's Rhetorical will make his season debut after winning the Coolmore Turf Mile (G1T) last fall at Keeneland ahead of a fourth-place finish in the Breeders' Cup Mile.
"It's a tough race with a stacked field," trainer Will Walden said. "He's ready."
One Stripe, a two-time group 1 winner in South Africa, will make his second North American start after opening the year with a runner-up finish Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational Stakes (G1T) in January at Gulfstream Park.
Other group 1 or grade 1 winners in the field include Troubleshooting and Zulu Kingdom. Donamire Farm homebred Troubleshooting captured last year's Franklin-Simpson Stakes (G1T) at Kentucky Downs while Madaket Stables, Michael Dubb, William Strauss, and Michael Caruso's Zulu Kingdom defeated other top 3-year-olds of 2025 in the American Stakes (G1T) at Churchill Downs. Zulu Kingdom is trained by Chad Brown, who secured a second victory in the Mile last year with Carl Spackler .
Keeneland, Friday, April 10, 2026, Race 9Entries: Maker's Mark Mile S. (G1T)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1Rhetorical (NY) Irad Ortiz, Jr. 123 William Walden 7/2 2 2One Stripe (SAF) John R. Velazquez 123 H. Graham Motion 8/1 3 3Troubleshooting (KY) Tyler Gaffalione 123 Gregory D. Foley 30/1 4 4Notable Speech (GB) William Buick 123 Charles Appleby 9/5 5 5Aomori City (FR) Richard Mullen 123 Charles Appleby 20/1 6 6Zulu Kingdom (IRE) Flavien Prat 123 Chad C. Brown 12/1 7 7Tenacious Leader (KY) Luis Saez 123 Todd A. Pletcher 30/1 8 8Bear River (KY) James Graham 123 J. Keith Desormeaux 30/1 9 9Wolfie's Dynaghost (KY) Jose L. Ortiz 123 Brian A. Lynch 8/1 10 10Deterministic (KY) Kendrick Carmouche 123 Miguel Clement 5/1 11 11Tiz Dashing (KY) Javier Castellano 123 Barclay Tagg 20/1 12 12Brilliant Berti (KY) Brian Joseph Hernandez, Jr. 123 Cherie DeVaux 20/1 13 13Pitkin (KY) Edgard J. Zayas 123 Ian R. Wilkes 30/1
