Noble Truth not for passing in G3 Jersey Stakes

Noble Truth showed his rivals a clean pair of heels as he bravely made virtually all to take the seven-furlong G3 Jersey Stakes on day five of Royal Ascot, Saturday, 18 June.

The Charlie Appleby-trained three-year-old had posted an all-the-way success on his previous start in a Newmarket Listed race and once again took up the running down the stands’ rail.

Noble Truth continued to race exuberantly in front and looked set to be swamped as the chasing pack closed approaching the final quarter-mile, with Samburu briefly taking up the running over a furlong out.

But the Godolphin runner rallied strongly under William Buick to soon regain the lead before asserting inside the final furlong for a length success over Find.

Charlie Appleby said: “Give a lot of credit to Nathan, who rides Noble Truth out at home. This horse has not been an easy horse to ride. He pulls like an express train every morning.

“Nathan did a good job going into Newmarket with him at the Guineas meeting and we made the call to geld Noble Truth. It is just something that, if he wanted to go forward again, then it was the right thing for the horse. In the last 10 days, credit to Nathan, he said that Noble Truth was starting to listen to him.

“Will gave him a peach of a ride there and you could see for the first half-mile that he was in a better rhythm and wasn't quite as headstrong as he was at Newmarket. When he got headed, I thought it would be interesting, and I didn't expect him to find the way he did.

“I am trying to find a horse for a race called the Golden Eagle in Australia in September and he might be the type of horse for it. We will start to make a plan.”

Buick said: “You saw today compared to Noble Truth's last run, when he was still a colt, that he was much more professional.

“He has so much energy and today he was able to channel it in the right direction. He's got lots of speed, but today I was able to ride him a little bit whereas in the past I have been a passenger. He’s always had plenty of ability, and hopefully that discipline will be the start of him fulfilling his potential.

“I wanted to go on the rail, but he was just lugging away from it. Frankie Dettori came and headed me [on Samburu] and that kind of helped this lad get motivated. He's very tenacious and really sticks his neck out. He is a horse we have always thought a lot.”