DEL MAR, Calif. – Since the start of this millennium, two winners of the 2000 Guineas in England have started in the Breeders’ Cup Mile. Kameko, a modest Guineas winner who was far from a standout, finished a lackluster seventh at Keeneland in 2022. Rock of Gibraltar, a great miler, finished second at Arlington 20 years earlier, beaten at odds-on by a bad trip. Now comes Notable Speech, winner of the 2000 Guineas, a straight-course mile at Newmarket on the first Saturday in May. Notable Speech, so far, couldn’t hold a candle to Rock of Gibraltar but carries more heft than Kameko, who went off a tepid 5-1 at Keeneland. Notable Speech will be favored Saturday in the $2 million Mile, not just because of what he’s accomplished but because of the connections behind him. Godolphin, trainer Charlie Appleby, and jockey William Buick won the Mile in 2021 with Space Blues, in 2022 with Modern Games, and last year’s with Master of The Seas. Modern Games comes with a loftier résumé than any of them, according to his trainer. “He’s an exciting horse, probably the highest profile horse we’ve ever brought over here, a 2000 Guineas winner, a Sussex winner,” Appleby said. Nearly everything Appleby has “brought over here” has come with a chance. Appleby won the 2013 Juvenile Turf with Outstrip, his first Breeders’ Cup runner, and comes to this year’s meet with a staggering Breeders’ Cup record of 20-10-2-1. Godolphin’s path to a fourth straight Mile became somewhat less challenging late Thursday when a principal rival, the France-based 3-year-old filly Ramatuelle, was scratched from the race. Connections said “bone remodeling” precipitated Ramatuelle’s withdrawal, depriving 38-year-old trainer Christopher Head of his first Breeders’ Cup runner. Ramatuelle was the lone France-based horse participating in this Breeders’ Cup. On Friday, another overseas entrant, Diego Velazquez, was scratched from the Mile by trainer Aidan O’Brien, who said the colt’s training session Friday morning suggested Diego Velazquez wasn’t at his best. That leaves a field of 10 for the Mile. With the scratches, Notable Speech and the filly Porta Fortuna now are the only European Mile runners. Two Japan-based horses, Geoglyph and Ten Happy Rose, are longshots, the latter more so than the former. The other six in the race hail from North America. Johannes is the leader of the West Coast division by a wide margin. Carl Spackler is tops in the East, though only marginally superior, if at all, to More Than Looks. Chad Brown trains Carl Spackler and also sends out Chili Flag, a 5-year-old mare trying to duplicate the accomplishment of Uni, who beat the boys for Brown in the 2019 Mile. Win for the Money captured the Woodbine Mile at odds of 13-1. California-based Goliad supplies the early speed. Notable Speech won the Guineas at 15-1, then promptly lowered his flag when he clunked home seventh at Royal Ascot in the St. James’s Palace Stakes. He rebounded in the Sussex, albeit in a five-horse race of questionable quality, then finished a flat fifth in the Moulin. Connections put down that disappointment to a soft course. Firm going at Del Mar will suit a colt who can deploy tactics to match race shape, Appleby said. “If they go hard early, they’re going to come back, and if they want to turn it into a [homestretch] sprint, that kind of plays into his strength, too. He’s one of those sort of comfortable horses, regardless of the pace,” said Appleby. :: BREEDERS’ CUP MILE: See DRF’s special section with top contenders, odds, comments, news, and more Carl Spackler owing to the two scratches now has a better post position, making things easier on his jockey, Tyler Gaffalione, who previously faced the prospect of attempting to save some ground from post 12. Carl Spackler, a good horse from the start, hit a new level winning Grade 1 miles in his last two outings. “The one thing he has going for him is he has good gate speed,” Brown said. “You’re gonna have to use a little bit of fuel there, but Tyler knows the horse so well. He does prefer to be on the lead or in the clear, that part we should be able to get to, but it’s a matter of how much ground he’s going to lose.” Brown believes Carl Spackler has hit his ceiling, which might or might not be good enough. Chili Flag, who will sit at the back and try to launch a rally, also needs a career best, Brown said. Her kick comes hard, but nothing like Uni’s. “Uni had the best turn of foot that I’ve ever trained. Her numbers were so fast, she was in a different area than this filly,” Brown said. More Than Looks ran the fastest final quarter-mile when finishing sixth in the 2023 BC Mile and finished fastest closing on Carl Spackler in the Fourstardave and the Coolmore Turf Mile. His trainer, Cherie DeVaux, just hopes her horse, fresh in only his third start this year, isn’t left with too much to do. “The key is for him to get into some kind of position on the backside,” DeVaux said. :: Get the inside scoop from the morning workouts with Breeders' Cup Clocker Reports from Mike Welsch and the DRF Clocker Team Johannes, the 4-year-old California-based colt, and Porta Fortuna, the 3-year-old Ireland-based filly, would do best finding a spot behind the speed and well in front of the closers. Johannes has overwhelmed West Coast rivals and looks a cut above Californians of recent seasons. “Everything has gone to plan. This is a different caliber of horse than he’s run against,” trainer Tim Yakteen said. Porta Fortuna finished in front of Ramatuelle in the Guineas and has gone on to land three Group 1 miles, albeit against fillies and mares. Donnacha O’Brien said Porta Fortuna comes to Del Mar a stronger horse than in the spring while acknowledging victory Saturday requires improvement. “She’s doing very well, but she needs a career best,” O’Brien said. The elder O’Brien’s entrant, Diego Velazquez, found a niche cutting back from longer races to eight and nine furlongs and racing near the lead. He won’t match the speed of Goliad, who won two rich Kentucky Downs races late this summer in the space of a week. :: Get Breeders' Cup Betting Strategies from Brad Free and David Aragona for exclusive wager recommendations and play the races with confidence! “He doesn’t give you a choice,” said trainer Richard Mandella, asked if Goliad would lead. “He’s like a locomotive. The wheels start turning. You don’t fight with him.” Notable Speech figures to settle mid-pack behind Goliad and whomever else wants to go forward. If recent Mile history serves as a guide, he will come running. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.