The third and final day of the July Meeting is nearly upon us and after dry night it looks like it will nice fast ground here at HQ. It is a shame there is no Blue Point lining up in the July Cup but he is the only horse missing from what looks like being a fantastic horse race. If Caravaggio wins his value as a Stallion will rocket and given Coolmore’s lack of a stand out star in the staying division, a victory here for their son of Scat Daddy will be of vital importance. Limato was very impressive last year despite hanging across the track and he cannot be ignored whilst Harry Angel has an abundance of talent and if they could conserve some of the energy he burns in the early stages of a race, he would have a fantastic chance. Dual Group 1 winner The Tin Man cannot be ruled out and he will be doing his best work late on whilst Tasleet who was one place behind The Tin Man in the Diamond Jubilee is another horse who cannot be forgotten.
I was delighted with Global Giant’s win here at Newmarket yesterday. He is a horse who has always shown us a lot of talent at home and he stepped forward from his debut as I hoped he might. He had to overcome adversity given he lost ground at the start and he showed a tenacious attitude to get up and win on the far side. He is a horse with a future and looks the type who will improve from two to three so anything he does this year is a bonus. Carol was disappointing at Chepstow and ran flat, I will give her a little break now.
We run four horses today at three meetings. Dark Red runs in the John Smiths Cup up at York and I would love them to get some more rain this morning. He is well drawn from stall three and has a nice racing weight but his best form is on good ground or slower. He may run if the ground looks safe but faster ground would not represent his optimum conditions. It’s a fiercely competitive race and if the rain comes then Victory Bond has to be feared as he is held in high regard by his shrewd connections. UAE Prince has always possessed a lot of talent and arrives here fresh from a gelding operation and Sixties Groove ran well at Royal Ascot and still has improvement in him.
Opposition and Sporting Times run in the same 1m4f handicap at 5:05 here at HQ. Opposition has found his form recently and comes here on the back of a win at York. He found plenty for pressure that day and saw his race out well, the uphill finish here should be in his favour but he does need to step forward from his York run. Sporting Times was too far back off a sprint at Newbury last time over 10f. This step up in trip will help and he remains open to plenty of improvement. Silken Dancer has only had the one run and was noted to be full of running past the finishing line, he is well bred and will take the beating. Quloob has gone up a long way in the weights for his facile Brighton win and that will make life tough for him here but he is improving. Batts Rock has it to prove now, Hollywood Road may not be as well handicapped as some and Panko was behind Opposition at York. There is now only a field of nine and both of ours have an each way chance.
Sagely runs in the 8:50 tonight at Salisbury. She ran better last time when third and the front two have franked the form since. Whilst she was beaten comfortably there is was an encouraging run. She does have to carry a lot of weight tonight which will be tough and she faces some unexposed types. Standing Rock is one from one and could be anything whilst Prosper is a filly with ability who drops in grade. Billesdon Bess is a last time out winner who is on the upgrade and Hadeeqa dead heated in an above average Goodwood Maiden.