Timeform Breeders' Cup preview: "One of the strongest chances of the meeting"

Notable Speech is 7lb clear of his nearest rival on Timeform’s ratings as he bids to make it consecutive victories in Saturday’s Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Mile.   

The Godolphin five-year-old currently sits on a rating of 127 following victory in the Group 1 City of York Stakes and a prep run in the Grade 1 Woodbine Mile.

He looks to have a golden opportunity to make it a second success in the contest in as many years, with Lake Forest his nearest challenger on ratings.

Timeform's Senior Racing Analyst Mark Milligan said: "Godolphin’s Notable Speech is becoming a regular in the Breeders’ Cup Mile and will be running in it for the third successive time, having finished third in 2024 before landing the spoils last year.“As in 2025, William Buick’s mount has warmed up for this with a win in the Woodbine Mile and his turn of foot is a potent weapon around the tight American turf tracks.“Although he can throw in the odd bad run, he’s yet to really do so on the other side of the Atlantic, and he was unlucky not to win the Maker’s Mark Mile over this course and distance in the spring, not beaten far into fourth despite having plenty go wrong.“With 7 lb+ in hand of the field on Timeform ratings, Notable Speech will take all the beating as he bids to follow up last year’s success."

American sprinter Bacio has lit up the best of the British festivals this summer, first making light work of a handicap mark of 100 at Royal Ascot in the Palace of Holyroodhouse Stakes withTimeform reporting it was “a performance good enough to win the Group 1 King Charles III Stakes earlier in the week.”

He repeated the dose the next time in the Group 1 Nunthorpe Stakes, when making all at York, achieving a Timeform rating of 124p. 

Returning to his home shores as the fifth highest sprinter in the world, behind only Ka Ying Rising (137), Autumn Glow (128), Almeraq (126) and Beiwacht (126), he looks one of the strongest chances for the home team at Keeneland this weekend. 

The Donnacha O’Brien-trained Comanche Brave (122) looks his main challenger on ratings, who cemented his position as the leading sprinter in Ireland with a dominant display in the Flying Five at the Curragh.

Timeform's Senior Racing Analyst Mark Milligan said: "While the European raiders tend to dominate the Breeders’ Cup races on Turf, they’ll have their work cut out trying to catch Wesley Ward’s Bacio in the Turf Sprint, who really announced himself on the sprinting scene in the summer.“The three-year-old son of Maclean’s Music took apart a 27-runner handicap at Royal Ascot in June, making a mockery of a BHA mark of 100 in the process.“He then backed that up and more by landing the Nunthorpe at York on his first try at the top level, again showing all the speed associated with Ward-trained sprinters and never looking like being caught.“With the prospect of even more to come, Bacio looks one of the strongest chances of the meeting for the home team."