SHEIKH Mohammed’s association with the family of the Group 1 2000 Guineas winner Notable Speech goes back to 1982, when he spent $175,000 at the Keeneland September Sale for a daughter of Secretariat (Bold Ruler) and the champion Irish two-year-old filly Welsh Garden (Welsh Saint). She was named Celtic Assembly.

Trained by Clem Magnier, Welsh Garden was rated the champion juvenile filly in Ireland in 1975, her five victories culminating with a win in the hands of Raymond Carroll in the seven and a half-furlong Waterford Glass Nursery at Gowran Park, a blacktype race.

If you are thinking, how did a filly who won a listed nursery become champion, it was because she had to miss all the prestigious races that season due to an aversion to starting stalls. Welsh Garden raced seven times, won all but two, and she rounded out her juvenile season by shouldering 9st 7lb to an impressive win at Gowran Park.

If Welsh Garden missed out on opportunities while racing, thanks to her starting stalls kink, she missed none at stud. She compiled an exceptional record, producing 15 foals, all but one of whom raced. That in itself would be impressive, but it gets better. All her 14 runners won, and they made their mark in Europe, the USA and down under.

The best of them was Molesnes (Alleged), a leading stayer in France where she won the Group 1 Prix du Cadran. Her half-sister Subjective (Secretariat) was a multiple stakes winner in the USA, while their half-brother Celtic Heir (Czaravich) won the Group 3 Horris Hill Stakes and then went to race in Australia where he was placed many times in group races, later going to stud.

Highly-rated

Subjective’s full-sister Celtic Assembly was sent by Sheikh Mohammed to be trained by John Dunlop. She didn’t win at two, but was highly-tried, and at three she won and was runner-up in the Listed Lupe Stakes. At stud she bred Volksraad (Green Desert) and Cherokee Rose Dancing Brave). The former was trained by Henry Cecil and won as a two-year-old at Newmarket. He had two starts as a three-year-old, winning at Royal Ascot and then running third in the Group 2 Challenge Stakes. A training accident led to Volksraad’s premature retirement, he went to stud in New Zealand and was six times champion sire.

Cherokee Rose, trained by John Hammond, showed promise as a two-year-old in 1993 when she won and finished a very close second in the Group 3 Prix du Calvados. She failed to win in an interrupted second season, but emerged as a top-class performer at four when winning the Group 3 Prix du Palais-Royal, Group 3 Prix de la Porte Maillot, Group 1 Prix Maurice de Gheest, and the Group 1 Haydock Sprint Cup.

Cherokee Rose produced two stakes horses, the Group 3 winner and classic-placed Bowman (Irish River) who ran third in the Group 1 Poule d’Essai des Poulains-French 2000 Guineas, and the Group 1 Al Quoz Sprint runner-up Ahtoug (Byron), and she is the grandam and ancestress of a myriad of pattern winners.

One of Cherokee Rose’s daughters, Moyesii (Diesis) bred the champion Kirklees (Jade Robbery) and Mastery (Sulamani), winner of the Group 1 St Leger and Hong Kong Vase. She is also grandam of the Group 1 Eclipse Stakes winner Mukhadram (Shamardal). Two non-winning daughters of Cherokee Road bred three stakes winners each, the more notable being Rose De France (Diktat), responsible for Group 2 winners Cable Bay (Invincible Spirit) and Sea Wolf (Amadeus Wolf).

Tulips

Which brings us to Notable Speech’s third dam Hint Of Spring (Seeking The Gold). Her trainer Saeed bin Suroor did well to get a win out of her, managing it on the last of her five starts over a mile at Nottingham, and she had just one foal in Ireland before heading to Japan. Though most of her foals born there won, none could match the achievements of the only foal she left behind, Tulips (Pivotal).

Sent to be trained by André Fabre, Tulips was consistent, winning a listed race at Fontainebleau and placing a few times at Group 3 level. Considered worth trying at Group 1 level, she finished fourth to Moonlight Cloud in the Prix Maurice de Gheest.

Tulips has made a fine start at stud, her first four offspring being winners, and three of them have earned blacktype. Grade 1 Natalma Stakes and Group 3 Fred Darling Stakes winner Wild Beauty (Frankel) leads the way, Desert Wisdom (Dubawi) is a Group 3 winner in the UAE where he was runner-up in the Group 2 Godolphin Mile, while Swift Rose (Invincible Spirit) is the third.

A winner on her debut at two for Saeed bin Suroor, Swift Rose came agonisingly close to landing the Group 3 UAE Oaks in the hands of Hayley Turner, the 40/1 shot being headed in the shadow of the post by a Godolphin runner trained by Charlie Appleby.

After that Swift Rose’s form trailed off, but she was an attractive breeding proposition. She has proven to be so, Notable Speech being her first foal.

Last year Swift Rose produced a filly by Pinatubo (Shamardal), and in the same year Tulips had a filly too, by Invincible Spirit’s outstanding son Kingman.

Darley roster

A 58th Group 1 winner for Dubawi (Dubai Millennium), Notable Speech has surely booked his place on the Darley stallion roster after his win in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket, gained in tremendous fashion. He becomes his sire’s fourth winner of the classic and remains unbeaten in four starts.

In the care of Charlie Appleby, Notable Speech was unraced as a two-year-old and began his career at three with a maiden win at Kempton at the end of January. He returned to the same track again in February and April to post victories in condition races, winning those by a combined three lengths. His classic run was a first on grass, and the first in stakes company.

It is somewhat surprising that Notable Speech is just the fourth blacktype horse produced by sending a daughter of Invincible Spirit to Dubawi. The others are Group 3 winner Perfect Tribute, listed winner Queen Of Desire, and group-placed Island Of Life.

After all, Green Desert (Danzig) mares have been very successful crossed with Dubawi, some of the stars being the triple Group 1 winner Lucky Nine, Group 1 2000 Guineas winner Makfi who was his sire’s first winner of the classic, and Dubawi Gold who was runner-up in the same classic.

This year

Dubawi is responsible for 11 individual stakes winners already in 2024, including Notable Speech’s fellow Group/Grade 1 winners Rebel’s Romance in the Sheema Classic and Master Of The Seas in the Maker’s Mark Mile. Standing for £350,000 this year, Dubawi’s record as a stallion at Dalham Hall is beyond reproach, and let’s hope the 22-year-old remains hale and hearty for some years to come.

Speaking about being well, Notable Speech’s damsire Invincible Spirit is covering twice a day at the Irish National Stud at the great age of 27. He continues to deliver and his son Ghostwriter lost his unbeaten record when fourth behind Notable Speech on Saturday. While Invincible Spirit’s record as a sire, and a sire of sires, is well celebrated, he has been no slouch as a broodmare sire, though not reaching some of the heights perhaps expected of him.

That said, his achievement in being broodmare sire of Notable Speech’s fellow European Group 1 winner Sound Of Freedom, Australian Group 1 winner Masked Crusader, and North American Grade 1 winners Victoria Road, Adhamo and Desert Encounter says plenty.