Silent Speech finds top voice in Dubai Trophy

Silent Speech continued his progressive profile when beating Home City and Wild Place as the trio dominated in the six-furlong Dubai Trophy at Meydan, UAE, on Friday, 21 January.

The Dubawi half-brother to Ultra, successful at Wolverhampton in November on his second start, was covered up towards the rear as Home City led the 10-strong field of three-year-olds in the turf sprint.

Silent Speech made smooth headway to challenge for the lead a furlong and a half out and the Charlie Appleby-trained colt forged clear in a matter of strides. He drifted towards the stands’ rail in the closing stages but had plenty in reserve to see off Home City by two lengths, with Wild Place keeping on for third.

Charlie Appleby said: “Silent Speech shows a lot of natural pace at home and has been training well out here. William gave him a nice ride – it’s windy enough tonight so he got plenty of cover before producing him at the right time.

“Hopefully, he’s a little horse who can progress through the sprinting ranks. I questioned whether he saw the seven furlongs out on his debut and James expected him to win going away at Wolverhampton but he fell through the line slightly. Our next step was to come back in trip and he has done it well tonight.

“There’s another sprint for the three-year-olds next month [Al Wasl Stakes] and we will have a look at that for him now.”

William Buick added: “It was a really likeable performance from Silent Speech. He is a very well-bred horse, who is very honest, and he coped fine with the drop back in trip. He lacked some experience compared to some of the others in the race but I really liked what he did.”