Excelebration would have been an absolute moral for this but he's, unsurprisingly, been taken out. That leaves Bated Breath as a clear favourite but conditions will not be in his favour if the weather forecast is correct. The same comments apply to Strong Suit and Ortensia. The one that takes the eye is Society Rock. He's solid in all the top Group 1 Sprint races and has run two excellent races in defeat so far this season. Furthermore, he is one for whom softer ground will not be a problem. He looks a fair bet at 8/1 EW with Ladbrokes. I'm not one to bet in sprints normally but this looks too good to miss.
Well I had been waiting for a certain French raider ever since watching him empty out over a mile after being so keen early- DABIRSIM Is he declared? (I'm trying to find the current lineup but having no luck)
Nope. Full field here - http://www.racingpost.com/horses2/cards/card.sd?race_id=553693&r_date=2012-07-14#raceTabs=lc_ However, in all honesty, I'd add Dabirsim to the Bonfire.
Society Rock @ 8/1 Was very unlucky in running last time out and Murtagh was adamant he would of won if he had got out of the stalls.
Any ideas why he has been taken out, would have been sure he would have won! and would have had my money him too lol
Press Release for the race: SUPPLEMENTARY ENTIRES STRONG SUIT & DANDY BOY AMONG 21 ON COURSE FOR DARLEY JULY CUP This year's £452,000 Group One Darley July Cup (2.40pm) is shaping up into a fascinating renewal with 21 contenders going forward, including supplementary entries Strong Suit and Dandy Boy, for the highlight of Darley July Cup Day of the Piper Heidsieck July Festival, Saturday, July 14. The six-furlong contest, which has produced the European champion sprinter 25 times in the past 35 years, is the third British leg in the Global Sprint Challenge and part of the QIPCO British Champions Series. Strong Suit is set to step down in trip after finishing 10th behind the world's best horse Frankel in the Group One Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot. The Richard Hannon-trained four-year-old has posted four Pattern wins over shorter distances, including when readily taking the Group Two Burj Khalifa Challenge Stakes over seven furlongs on Newmarket's Rowley Mile course in October. Dandy Boy, one of five Irish-trained entries going forward, heads to Newmarket on the back of a career-best effort in the Wokingham Handicap at Royal Ascot on June 23, when he gave County Tipperary trainer David Marnane the biggest victory of his career to date. The six-year-old's winning time of 1m 13.87s over Ascot's six furlongs was almost a quarter of a second quicker than Australian wondermare Black Caviar's victory in the Diamond Jubilee Stakes on the same card. Bated Breath is on course for another crack at the Darley July Cup, having finished second to Dream Ahead in last year's renewal. Roger Charlton's charge, winner of the Group Two Temple Stakes at Haydock Park in May, filled the runner-up spot on his latest start in the Group One King's Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot on June 19. Last season's Diamond Jubilee Stakes winner Society Rock, representing Newmarket handler James Fanshawe, flew home to take fifth after missing the break in the Royal Ascot contest this year, while Hoof It, narrowly beaten into third in the Group One Haydock Sprint Cup, could line up for Mick Easterby. Sirius Prospect acquitted himself well on his Group One debut for trainer Dean Ivory with a close seventh in the Diamond Jubilee Stakes. The progressive four-year-old completed a four-timer last season that culminated with a cosy victory over Mayson in a Doncaster Listed contest on soft ground in November. Ivory commented: "Sirius Prospect is definitely an intended runner in the Darley July Cup. I was delighted with his run in the Diamond Jubilee and he has come out of that race the best that he has come out of a race all year. "He wore a hood and blinkers for the first time at Royal Ascot and he will be wearing both again at Newmarket. I think that it helps him a little bit because he can get a little bit wound up in the stalls, like a lot of sprinters do. I don't want to lose a length or two in races like this and it gives him a bit more focus. "The ground won't be a problem for him, as long as it is not heavy. He seems to run on all ground and, ideally, I would be happy with good to soft or soft because we know he goes on it. "It took a while for him to get going this season but I think his run in the Diamond Jubilee proved a lot. He was drawn the opposite side to Black Caviar and had to race away from the pace. If he puts in a similar race at Newmarket, then I would like to think that he will be there or thereabouts." Three entries from the stable of Aidan O'Brien include this season's Group One Abu Dhabi Irish 2,000 Guineas victor Power, After and Reply, while the Coolmore operation may also be represented by Fire Lily, a recent Group Three winner for David Wachman. No Australian sprinter has won the Darley July Cup but Ortensia is set to provide a strong antipodean challenge this year. Paul Messara's mare disappointed in the King's Stand Stakes but had previously recorded a pair of comfortable Group One wins in the Al Quoz Sprint in Dubai and the Burswood-Winterbottom Stakes in Australia. Further international representation is due to be provided by Group One Dubai Golden Shaheen Sponsored by Gulf News victor Kryton Factor, who is trained in Bahrain by Fawzi Nass. Others going forward include Hitchens and Libranno, who finished third and fourth respectively in last year's race, and the Godolphin pair of Soul and multiple Australian Group One winner Sepoy. Elnawin, Genki, Hawkeyethenoo and The Cheka complete the confirmations. A seven-race card on Darley July Cup Day also features the £60,000 Group Two 32Red.Com Superlative Stakes (1.40pm) over seven furlongs and the historic £50,000 32Red Bunbury Cup over the same distance. The Piper-Heidsieck July Festival starts on Thursday, July 12, Goldsmiths Ladies Day, and continues on Friday, July 13, with Abu Dhabi Day.
Full card for those that cannot access Racing Post: THE DARLEY JULY CUP £452,000 total prize fund, Group 1, third British leg of the Global Sprint Challenge and part of the British Champions Series. Six furlongs, Newmarket, Saturday, July 14, for three-year-olds and upwards. Weights: 3-y-o colts and geldings 8st 13lb, fillies 8st 10lb; 4-y-o and upwards colts and geldings 9st 5lb; fillies 9st 2lb. Entries closed May 8, entries revealed May 9 (57 entries), scratchings deadline June 26 (28 remained), five-day confirmations & £30,000 supplementary entry stage Monday, July 9 (19 confirmations plus 2 supplementary entries), final declarations 10am, Thursday, July 12. Form figures supplied by Weatherbys and are correct up to and including the racing of Sunday, July 8. May not include some overseas form. Horse Age/Wt Owner Trainer BATED BREATH 5-9-05 Khalid Abdulla Roger Charlton DANDY BOY (ITY)* 6-9-05 Malih L Al Basti David Marnane IRE ELNAWIN 6-9-05 Noodles Racing Richard Hannon GENKI (IRE) 8-9-05 Gillian Khosla Roger Charlton HAWKEYETHENOO (IRE) 6-9-05 Johnnie Delta Racing Jim Goldie HITCHENS (IRE) 7-9-05 Laurence O'Kane & Paul Murphy David Barron HOOF IT 5-9-05 Chubby Chandler & Lee Westwood Mick Easterby KRYPTON FACTOR 4-9-05 Fawzi Abdulla Nass Fawzi Abdulla Nass BHR LIBRANNO 4-9-05 McDowell Racing Richard Hannon MAYSON 4-9-05 David Armstrong Richard Fahey SEPOY (AUS) 4-9-05 Godolphin Mahmood Al Zarooni SIRIUS PROSPECT (USA) 4-9-05 Miss N Yarrow Dean Ivory SOCIETY ROCK (IRE) 5-9-05 Simon Gibson James Fanshawe SOUL (AUS) 5-9-05 Godolphin Saeed bin Suroor STRONG SUIT (USA) * 4-9-05 Qatar Racing Limited Richard Hannon THE CHEKA (IRE) 6-9-05 Anthony Pye-Jeary And Mel Smith Eve Johnson Houghton ORTENSIA (AUS) 7-9-02 Alister & Annie Fraser, Emma Ridley Paul Messara AUS POWER 3-8-13 Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith & Sue Magnier Aidan O'Brien IRE REPLY (IRE) 3-8-13 Sue Magnier/Tabor/Smith/Mordukhovitch Aidan O'Brien IRE AFTER (IRE) 3-8-10 Sue Magnier, Michael Tabor & Derrick Smith Aidan O'Brien IRE FIRE LILY (IRE) 3-8-10 Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith & Sue Magnier David Wachman IRE 19 five-day confirmations plus 2 supplementary entries 5 Irish-trained 1 Bahrain-trained 1 Australian-trained * supplementary entry
I enjoy the sprints and this is looking to be a potential cracker - all of Ortensia, Strong Suit, Society Rock, Sepoy, Hoof It, Krypton Factor and Bated Breath have the potential to be taking it - could be a very good race. Personally I'd be tempted for Sepoy @ 14/1 (win only), but I also am always tempted to have a go at Hoof It - he was comfortably my biggest winner of last years flat season, but doesn't look like he's trained on this season. If back to form though he must be a contender. Shame Excellebration is out. Bated Breath cannot possibly be out of the first three I think - havent looked to see what the tbp odds are on betfair mind.
Whilst I like Society Rock at 8/1, I'll be backing Dandy Boy - now best priced 14/1 from 20/1 yesterday. He looked really well at Ascot and the continuing easy ground will be in his favour. He won with some authority at the Royal meeting- although Waffle must be supported wherever he runs next ( he ran a great race too on the unfavoured side).
Soft ground: SEPOY Standout value at 14/1 and retires after this race. Winning would boost the stud fees and interesting Godolphin bought him. Any good horse can be forgiven for flopping in Dubai. Monterosso is 'World Champion' FFS.
I thought Power's run was pretty decent George. Have to be a hope you'd think. Sepoy is an interesting one. He has a fantastic record but can seem to run a little hot and cold. He can be hard ridden and just fall in one week, then the next he can blow the best of them away. Godolphin have stated in the past that they want to inject some serious speed into their stock, and as such, have been buying a lot of Australian horses. The way breeding is going these days, there is more of an emphasis on speedier types and less on the old staying stock. In the past, all most buyers wanted was a tough 12f horse who would have no problems with an extra couple of furlongs, now the 10-12f animal seems to be more desirable. Still, these are not sprinting types. I'm really not in a position to make a valued judgement on European sprinting, but from the perspective of an outsider, it does seem that this aspect of European racing has been considered the poor relation of the sport. If true, that's a shame. There is some serious money to be made from sprinting, and I think that the large breeders have seen an opening in the game, which they hope to exploit before the rank and file breeder wakes up to what's going on. It's all about money.
Power wants 3 miles round Cheltenham, no chance in a July Cup forget Society Rock, only wins when unfancied, bookie horse forget Bated Breath, bridesmaid - wants a road to be winning a Group1, will probably finish 2nd or 3rd Ortensia 10/1, on now get, clearly best horse in the race, this has always been the main target, ground no concern forget Black Caviar and Society Rock, the revelation of the Jubilee was a horse called Sirius Prospect, serious sprinter in the making came back to form in no uncertain terms in the first time blinkers, travelled like the second best horse in the race, challenged away from the action, its took him some time to get going this year but I suspect he will go from strength to strength now, he does prefer nice ground but he handles cut and he is the e/w bet of the race at 20/1 So my two against the field are Ortensia 10/1 and Sirius Prospect 20/1 You know the score, if your on anything else, get out now. thats why they call me Boris Fenster
Sepoy was bred by Darley. He wasn't bought by Godolphin. He's a big price if he recaptures his form but I worry that he's 'burnt out'.
Last year I thought Hoof It was going to be our top sprinter. I don't know what's happened but I'm not inclined to select him for this. However, knowing my luck, if I were to go for anything else he will skate up at a decent price.
If you back him Ron he'll finish nearer last than first, if you don't he will skate up. I think they call it Sod's law.
