Thursday, 7 May 2009: The £400,000 Group One Darley July Cup, the highlight of the three-day Newmarket July Festival, has attracted 69 entries from nine different countries (up from 66 in 2008) for the 2009 renewal, which takes place on the July Course on Friday, July 10.
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Sakhee's Secret wins the 2007 July Cup
Photo by Racing and Sports | |
Run over six furlongs, the Darley July Cup is one of the three British legs of the Global Sprint Challenge alongside the King's Stand Stakes and the Golden Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot.
Among this year's entry are possible starters from Australia, France, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, South Africa and the USA, alongside the very best home-trained sprinters.
Last year's Darley July Cup went the way of Marchand D'Or who became the latest winner of the race to be subsequently crowned European champion sprinter. The Freddie Head-trained gelding is a possible starter again alongside African Rose, trained by his sister Criquette Head-Maarek who won the July Cup in 1996 with Anabaa. African Rose is also a Group One winner, having taken the Sprint Cup at Doncaster in September.
Head-Maarek revealed today: “The Darley July Cup could be a potential race for African Rose. She will hopefully be making her seasonal reappearance over seven furlongs at Longchamp at the end of this month and we will see how she gets on there before deciding where to go with her.
“She's won over both six and seven furlongs and she has the speed to get the lesser trip. We are starting her off over seven because I think it looks easier for her at this time of the season.
“The stiff six furlongs of the July Course will suit her well because you really have to travel up the hill. She has done very well over the winter and I have been pleased with her preparation for the coming season.
“I was delighted with her victory at Doncaster, where she stayed on well, and she's a very game filly. She came back with a big joint from the Prix de la Foret and I think she must have walked on herself when leaving the stalls. It was nothing serious and she's very well in herself at the moment.”
Hungarian superstar Overdose is unbeaten in a dozen outings and “won” the Group One Prix de l'Abbaye at Longchamp last season in impressive fashion before the race was declared void due to a false start. Contest is from the stable of Athens handler Christos Theodorakis (who also has a base in France) and was a winner in Listed company at Chantilly on April 23 while a prolific Greek winner Ialysos is now with Luca Cumani.
Globetrotting Australian superstar Takeover Target has won 21 races during his glittering career, including the 2006 King's Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot and the remarkable 10-year-old appears to be in the form of his life following victories in Group One company at Randwick and Morphettville on his latest two starts. He contested the Darley July Cup in 2006, finishing seventh. The second entry from “Down Under” is Scenic Blast, twice successful in Group One company including on his latest start at Flemington on March 7.
J J The Jet Plane is a dual Group One winner in his native South Africa and hails from the all-conquering yard of Mike de Kock, while the one entry from the USA is Cannonball, trained by Wesley Ward and second on his latest start in Grade Three company at Churchill Downs on May 1. Inspiration is trained in Hong Kong by John Moore and is a dual Group One winner in the former British colony, having won the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong Sprint at Sha Tin in December and the Centenary Sprint Cup at the same course in February.
Several horses who have been campaigned over longer distances have the chance of dropping back in distance for the Darley July Cup, including Paco Boy, who registered his biggest success in the Group One Prix da la Foret over seven furlongs at Longchamp last season and recently showed his well-being by taking a Group Two contest over a mile at Sandown last month.
Derek Lucie-Smith, a member of the Calvera Partnership which owns the Richard Hannon-trained four-year-old, commented: “The Darley July Cup is a possibility for Paco Boy at the moment, although we are focusing on the Lockinge Stakes at Newbury (May 16) at the moment. We will see how he gets on there before deciding whether to stick with him over a mile.
“We actually consider him to be better over seven furlongs as opposed to a mile and we would consider running him over a stiff six furlongs. The July Course would suit that option well, particularly if there was some ease in the ground.
“We thought he won the Sandown Mile in good style, especially as he was the first horse to win the race under a penalty since 1993. It took him about 10 days to get over his Dubai trip - he had a bit of a rough time over there and coming back - so we gave him the run at Sandown.
“He wasn't 100% on that occasion, but he wasn't far off. It was more a question of giving the owners a confidence booster rather than the horse!”
Champion trainer Aidan O'Brien has four entries to choose from including stanjames.com 1000 Guineas fourth Heart Shaped and Mastercraftsman, who took fifth place in Saturday's stanjames.com 2000 Guineas. The stanjames.com 2000 Guineas runner-up Delegator, trained by Brian Meehan, is also entered.
Last year's third War Artist is a possible starter again while the Darley July Cup is also a possible target for last year's Golden Jubilee Stakes victor Kingsgate Native, who has returned to training for owners Cheveley Park Stud with Sir Michael Stoute after proving unsuitable as a stallion. The Newmarket-based breeding operation also has the race as an option for Evasive, who finished sixth in the stanjames.com 2000 Guineas.
Hughie Morrison sent out Sakhee's Secret to success in 2007 and has entered that horse's half-brother, Palace Moon, this time around. The four-year-old is still some way off showing the form Sakhee's Secret displayed but was an impressive winner at Doncaster in March.
