Tag Archive for: July Cup

Monday Musings: Whisper it…

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Mention it quietly, the youngsters are coming, writes Tony Stafford. Saturday’s July Cup at Newmarket was a refreshing change as future champion jockey Billy Loughnane teamed up for the first time with Aidan’s youngest, Donnacha O’Brien, and collected the big prize with 11/1 shot Commanche Brave.

Commanche Brave, a four-year-old son of Wootton Bassett – who else? – had been only seventh but less than three lengths behind the winner Almeraq in the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot, but now, nicely poised all the way, never looked likely to be beaten.

The nature of top-class sprints at a period of no outstanding divisional champion is to have a host of contenders still in the mix going into the closing stages. It was slightly the other way around at Newmarket, five others keeping on, three from unpromising positions, to get within hailing distance of the winner. The first six were again within less than three lengths.

While Almeraq in ninth didn’t live up to his form from the Royal meeting, both Commonwealth Cup heroine Venetian Sun and Japan raider and 2/1 favourite Satono Reve, who was second to Almeraq last time, had been there all the way to take the minor places.

Just over a length back in third, Satono Reve was sending another compliment, as if he needed one, to Hong Kong’s finest, Ka Ying Rising, who had him a grovelling second, more than four lengths back, when they met at Sha Tin in April. It would be great if Ascot could entice his connections to let him come over for next year’s Royal meeting.

Last weekend, Donnacha O’Brien had achieved an excellent performance with sister Ana’s A Boy Named Susie when second to Constitution River in the Coral-Eclipse at Sandown. There was a further family connection this weekend; Aidan and wife Anne-Marie’s Whisperview Trading Ltd are the breeders of Commanche Brave.

For the parents, that took away some of the pain from the less than brilliant effort of another Ascot winner, Mission Central, aiming to stretch out over an extra furlong from his win at the minimum in the King Charles III Stakes. He was one of the first beaten when the field set off up the climb towards the finish.

It was a mixed week for Aidan, with both Precise on Friday – never going fast enough to peg back Andrew Balding’s Blue Bolt in the Group 1 Falmouth Stakes – and on Saturday coming out second in a drawn-out conclusion to the Superlative Stakes. In this, both his odds-on shot Abraham Lincoln and market rival Charlie Appleby’s Al Hubaida showed greenness before the latter got the verdict on the line.

The earlier two-year-old maiden brought a win to Ballydoyle, via Justify colt Haffner over Godolphin’s Al Wathba, the latter a colt by Wootton Bassett. This was the race where last year Appleby’s Distant Storm came out on top with none other than Constitution River as the runner-up.

As usual, the multiplicity of top meetings on Saturday will have annoyed the purists. York had the John Smith’s Handicap and a Group 3 heading its card; Ascot had a Group 2 and another Heritage handicap, matching the Bunbury Cup at Newmarket as a major back-up to the top events.

Even Chester, relegated to only fourth-place status, would no doubt have attracted its usual massive crowd. Their feature was a £34k seven-furlong Listed, while all the other seven races on an eight-race card carried identical win money of £7,731. Still, any winner’s a winner!

I would love the July meeting to revert to its traditional Tuesday to Thursday slot, leaving Ascot and York to have a more dominant position in the Calendar. There were 16,000 people on the July Course on Thursday, Ladies Day, but only half that number on Friday.

I had a nice chat with quite a few trainers over the first two days at Newmarket but neglected to quiz Ian Williams whether he fancied anything for the Saturday. Of course, I should have asked him his thoughts about Aalto, going for a second win after his 2024 victory in the Bunbury Cup – one of my favourite handicaps ever since Pinctada, who originally raced in my colours, won the race for Terry Ramsden in 1988.

Last year, Aalto was caught in the final stride in the race by More Thunder, nowadays a Group-race performer for William Haggas. Now, from the foot of the handicap, and running off 5lb lower, no wonder he and William Buick headed the market. He won comfortably and no doubt will continue to be a feature in valuable handicaps.

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I know I often turn this article around to stuff that’s happened to me as in the Pinctada episode. The summer before his Bunbury Cup success, he won six races in a period of 20 days for Rod Simpson at a time when horses could run for almost three weeks after a win with just a single penalty if the timing was right. Glory days.

More recently, I have owed a debt of gratitude to Raymond Tooth. The world-famous family lawyer signed me up in 2007 and for most of the time since Ray punched above his weight. Now, in his mid-80’s he has finally decided to retire and close his Sears Tooth law firm.

I was grateful to be given the role of racing manager at a time when several part-time jobs that I had after taking early retirement from the Daily Telegraph evaporated away.

We first met on the day Punjabi was a runaway 19-length winner of the Grade 2 Adonis Hurdle at Kempton, introduced through mutual friend Derek Hatter. Coincidentally, he was looking for someone to ease the burden of keeping up with 30 horses in training along with his demanding day job.

In the winner’s room, my credentials were advanced to him by my long-time acquaintance, the late Brod Munro-Wilson, who was also there that day. Years before, I had bought Talon, a staying jumper for Brod. He was one of 12 winners in a single day, one Boxing Day, yet another record set by Michael Dickinson. Can you match that one, Dan Skelton?

Punjabi went on to win a Champion Hurdle for Nicky Henderson, not bad for a one-time seven-furlong handicapper on the flat and a £42k HIT sales buy out of the Geraldine Jones yard. Some trainer, that Henderson!

It wasn’t just on the NH side of things that Ray enjoyed success. He paid £25k for a yearling filly by Indian Ridge with Richard Hannon. The year before we met, she collected almost £140k when winning a sales race for juveniles and went on to win the Cheveley Park Stakes.

After finishing just behind the placed horses at Newmarket, she missed out on a run in the Irish 1,000 Guineas, Richard waiting for the Coronation Stakes at the Royal meeting.  It rained heavily on the morning of the race, and Steve and Kevin Howard, my pals, had a right old killing along with a couple of their mates, at well beyond the 8/1 starting price.

Richard Hughes waited before sending her into full stride a furlong from home and, amazingly in view of the opposition, which included the winners (in order of finish) of the German (Mi Emma), French (Darjina), English and Irish (Finsceal Beo) 1,000 Guineas among the 13-runner field, she obliterated them all.

Indian Ink strode majestically clear to win by six lengths, a performance that brought a 2million gns bid from Hamdan Al Maktoum’s Shadwell Stud at the end of the year. The one sadness for Ray, and me to a lesser extent, was the fact she never raced again after that Coronation Stakes, while many of her “victims” continued to thrive.

Ray’s last big winner came after he was recommended to French trainer Nicolas Clement by agent Charlie Gordon-Watson. After an unremarkable start, Nicolas suggested he find one for Raymond himself and he came up with the already-named French Fifteen, a colt by Turtle Bowl, bought at the sales in France as a yearling for €30k.

He won five in a sequence of six races as a two-year-old, culminating in the comfortable success in the Group 1 Criterium International at Saint-Cloud. Within a few days, French Fifteen had been sold to Qatari connections and he came across to Newmarket the following May to run Camelot close in the 2,000 Guineas – some performance against the O’Brien colt before his Derby success.

As I said, Raymond always punched above his weight, like his long-time right-hand man Steve Gilbey. Both men have been true friends and have been valued life advisors to me for the best part of 20 years. I hope Ray continues to enjoy good health and retains the knack of picking out winning patents from his modest wagers in the Star Sports betting shop in Mayfair.

Sat TV Trends: Ascot & York (11th July 2026)

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Plenty going on again this Saturday with a staggering ELEVEN LIVE ITV races to take in.

We’ve the final day of the Newmarket July Meeting (covered separately), with the Group One July Cup , plus the Group Two Superlative Stakes and the competitive Bunbury Cup Handicap.

Then at Ascot, we’ve two more LIVE races to enjoy from the Berkshire track that include the Group Two Summer Mile, while the ITV cameras are also at York to take in four races that include the competitive John Smith’s Cup Handicap.

As always, we’ve got all the races covered with key trends and stats – use these to find the best past profile of winning horses.

Ascot Horse Racing Trends

1:55 – Club 26 Heritage Handicap Cl2 (3yo+) 5f ITV4

10/11 – Ran in the last 3 weeks
9/11 – Had won over 5f before
9/11 – Carried 8-10 or more
8/11 – Had won between 2-6 times
8/11 – Aged between 4 and 6 years-old
7/11 – Didn’t win last time out
7/11 – Returned between 7/1 and 14/1
7/11 – Came from a double-figure stall
5/11 – Aged 5 or 6 years-old
5/11 – Ran at Ascot last time out
3 winning favourites in the last 10
The average winning SP in the last 10 runnings is 10/1

2:27 – Juddmonte Summer Mile Stakes (Group 2) Cl2 (4yo+) 1m ITV4

17/17 - Aged 4, 5 or 6 years-old
15/17 – Came from the top 3 in the betting
14/17 – Had won over at least a mile before
13/17 – Placed favourites
13/17 – Had raced at Ascot before (4 won)
12/17 – Aged either 4 or 6 years-old
11/17 – Previous Group race winner
9/17 – Winning favourites (8 of the last 11 have won)
9/17 – Had won at least 4 times before
8/17 – Aged 4 years-old
8/17 – Raced at Ascot last time out
7/17 – Won last time out
3/17 – Had won a Group 1 before
11 of the last 15 winners were draw in stalls 5 or lower
Trainer William Haggas has won 2 of the last 10 runnings
Trainer Andrew Balding has won 3 of the last 8 runnings
The average winning SP in the last 10 years is 5/2

York Horse Racing Trends

2:39 - John Smith’s Racing Handicap Cl2 (3yo+ 0-100) 1m ITV4

14/14 - Aged between 3-6 years-old
13/14 - Ran in the last 4 weeks
13/14 - Won between 2-4 times before
12/14 - Carried 9st or more in weight
12/14 - Won over at least 1m before
11/14 - Returned 8/1 or shorter in the betting
10/14 - Aged 4 or 5 years-old
10/14 - Drawn in stall 7 or lower
9/14 - Irish bred
9/14 - Finished 4th or better last time out
8/14 - Had run at the track before (York)
7/14 - Placed favourites
5/14 - Trained by David O’Meara
3/14 - Winning favourites
8 of the last 9 winners drawn 8 or lower
The average winning SP in the last 10 runs is 13/2

3:12 - John Smith's City Walls Stakes (Listed Race) Cl1 (3yo+) 5f ITV4

15/15 – Won over 5f before
14/15 – Raced in the last 4 weeks
13/15 – Placed favourites
11/15 – Unplaced last time out
10/15 – Won at York before
10/15 – Rated between 101 and 111
7/15 – Had only won at Handicap class before
7/15 – Aged between 5-7 years-old
6/15 – Won by a neck or less
6/15 – Ran at Ascot last time out
Last 8 winners aged between 3-5 years-old
Trainer Tim Easterby has won the race in 2019 & 2021
Washington Heights won the race in 2025
Starlust (13/8 fav) won the race in 2024
6 of the last 10 favourites (co and joint) have won
The average winning SP in the last 10 runnings is 4/1

3:45 - John Smith's Cup Handicap (Heritage Handicap) Cl2 (3yo+) 1m2½f ITV4

22/24 – Returned 20/1 or shorter in the betting
22/24 – Had won over 1m1f or further before
20/24 – Aged 5 or younger
16/24 – Returned 14/1 or shorter in the betting
15/24 – Came from stall 9 or higher
15/24 – Carried 9-4 or less
14/24 – Aged 4 years-old
14/24 – Had between 3-5 previous runs already that season
13/24 – Top 4 finish in their previous race
13/24 – Officially rated between 99-105
10/24 – Had run at York before
6/24 – Ran at Royal Ascot last time out
3/24 – Won by trainer Richard Fahey
3/24 – Trained by William Haggas
3/24 – Winning favourites (2 joint)
3/24 - Trained by Andrew Balding (3 of the last 7)
2/24 - Trained by Roger Varian (2 of the last 12)
Since 1960 just one winner older than 6
12 of the last 15 winners aged 4 or 5
9 of the last 12 winners carried 9st 3lbs or more
The average winning SP in the last 24 years is 11/1

4:55 - John Smith's Silver Cup Stakes (Group 3) Cl1 (4yo+) 1m6f ITV4

18/20 – Had between 1 and 3 previous runs that season
16/20 – Aged 5 or younger
14/20 – Didn’t win their previous race
14/20 – Placed favourites
10/20 – Aged 4 years-old
10/20 – Had run at York before
8/20 – Ran at Ascot last time out
6/20 – Horses from stall 2 that finished second
7/20 – Winning favourites
The average winning SP in the last 10 years is 7/1

 

 

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Notable Speech handed York target after July Cup eclipse

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Charlie Appleby may seek a happy medium with Notable Speech after his experimental sprint run in the Al Basti Equiworld, Dubai July Cup Stakes ended in defeat.

Last season’s 2000 Guineas winner has got his head in front only once since that Classic success and has seemed to be faltering towards the end of his one-mile assignments this season.

He was therefore scaled back to six furlongs to see if that would trigger a return to form and though the distance posed an unknown, he was still well fancied as the 85-40 favourite under William Buick.

The Group One contest was not to be the scene of his comeback, however, and he ultimately finished fifth to leave his trainer pondering a stab at seven furlongs next.

He said: “Will genuinely sounded disappointed, he said he’d thought he’d done everything right and then at the business end he just didn’t finish.

“We’ve been seeing the same thing at a mile so maybe we’ve got a look a bit harder at him, I don’t know.

“It was always going to be hard to jump to make an assessment after his first time sprinting at this level.

“I see no reason not to meet halfway at seven (furlongs) and go to York, which was always our plan.

“If the horse comes out of it well, and I see no reason why he won’t, we’ll head to the City of York Stakes.”

Of stablemate Symbol Of Honour, who was eighth under Oisin Murphy, he added: “Symbol Of Honour really doesn’t like the Rowley Mile, we’re nowhere near the Rowley Mile but he still wasn’t handling the track.

“Oisin still said to me that he’s a Group One sprinter in the making so he’ll carry on sprinting, he’ll go to Haydock or somewhere like that. A slick track will suit him perfectly.”

Connections of the Mick Appleby-trained runner-up Big Mojo were thrilled with their colt’s effort and are planning a step back to five furlongs for the remainder of the campaign.

“I’m absolutely delighted with him. We’ve tried him over six this year, we’ve been brave,” said owner Paul Teasdale.

“Today was always going to be a tough ask but he did fantastically well. I’m really proud of him, I thought he’d just about got it but not quite, I’m still delighted.

“The King George, the Nunthorpe, the Flying Five – we’re in all of them so we’ve got some options.

“He travels so well, he can withstand the pace and he’s got a great finish in him.

“He won the Molecomb last year, he’d be delighted to go back to Goodwood.

“He’s really maturing into a top-class horse.”

Aidan O’Brien’s Whistlejacket, who was well supported in the lead up to the race, finished 12th at odds of 13-2 and may be due an easy few weeks after he was out of luck at Royal Ascot too.

The trainer said: “It was a good, strong pace and he got back a little bit. We’ll see where we’ll go, we might give him a little break and freshen him up for the autumn.

“It didn’t work the last day and it didn’t work today, so that’s what we might do. A little break and we might have him back for Haydock or something like that.”

No Half Measures stuns July Cup rivals

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Richard Hughes’ No Half Measures ran out a shock winner of the Al Basti Equiworld, Dubai July Cup Stakes at Newmarket.

At 66-1 she was a real outsider in the Group One contest, and from stall 15 she kept out of trouble under Neil Callan on the far side of the track.

As the six-furlong event reached the business end she was picking off rivals and after locking horns with Big Mojo, it was No Half Measures who came out on top by a neck with a further length and three-quarters back to Run To Freedom in third.

Hughes steered Oasis Dream to victory in the 2003 July Cup and after taking up training in 2015, No Half Measures is his first Group One winner as a handler.

Neil Callan returns to the winner's enclosure aboard No Half Measures
Neil Callan returns to the winner’s enclosure aboard No Half Measures (Joe Giddens/PA)

An emotional Hughes said: “I’ve just got a bear hug off William Buick and he’s cut my lip!

“It’s brilliant. Disappointments when you’re training are very hard and the highs don’t meet the lows. We fancied the filly yesterday Mood Queen and she finished last, which was excruciating, and the highs aren’t even high enough.

“It’s an up and down game, but I’m coping better with it now than I used to. It’s been a tough enough ride to get to here, but I’m definitely appreciating more now than when I started.

“I didn’t appreciate all those good horses when I was riding, I just took it for granted and I was very lucky to be riding for Richard Hannon and having the Khalid Abdullah job – I was privileged to be riding good horses every year.

“We get a good horse through the yard now and again and I’m trying to mind it like a baby and I’m watching it every day in case it goes wrong because you probably only have one or two bullets. In Hannon’s, if one broke you’d get on another one next day or I’d get another ride. There was a flow of horses and I found it very easy.

“I was a little bit naive when I started training – I thought if I bought 20 horses one of them was going to be good. Then I bought 20 the following year and still no good one.

“This is harder, but more rewarding for sure.”

Of gaining his first Group One as a trainer, he added: “I’ve got the monkey off my back that’s for sure and I can retire now saying I rode a July Cup winner and trained one, so that’s really nice.

Richard Hughes (second left) with No Half Measures
Richard Hughes (second left) with No Half Measures (Joe Giddens/PA)

“Of course I want more, it’s my nature as I’m very competitive, but if you don’t have the horses you can’t train them.”

No Half Measures won a handicap at this meeting last year before graduating to Group Three and Listed success, but Hughes admitted he had not expected to hit the mark at the highest level.

He said: “She won here last year in a handicap and when Ryan (Moore) got off her I asked him if we’d get a bit of black type and he said ‘she’s better than that’, which is something Ryan never says! He’s a realist, so I was quite surprised by that.

“We plotted to get our black type and we got it and she’s done nothing but improve.

“There was very little pressure today really. At halfway I thought she was going OK and then I just held my head because I couldn’t believe what was happening!

“I just thought if she’s going to get caught she’s going to caught, because they normally do, but I would have been pleased even with second or third, so to win is just a bonus.”

Callan has had a quiet season so far and was grateful to get the Group One call up from Hughes.

He said: “It’s surreal because I’m getting into the twilight of my career. My son Jack is starting and I’m getting a lot of flak saying I’ve getting give up. He was with Kevin Ryan yesterday and my old boss Kevin telling me I’ve got to retire so this one’s for you, Kev!

“I’ve got to thank Richard (Hughes) because if you don’t get given these opportunities then you can’t take them and I’m not in a position to be going around scouting and taking rides.

“You know this game – you’re only as good as your last ride so you’ve got to come out and prove yourself every time you come out, every day.”

Notable Speech aiming to join July Cup giants

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It might be stretching it to say Notable Speech attempts to do an Ajdal in the Al Basti Equiworld, Dubai July Cup, but his presence has certainly added lots of spice to the Newmarket showpiece.

Dewhurst winner Ajdal was miraculously brought back from defeats in the 2000 Guineas and Derby by Sir Michael Stoute to win the sprint championship in 1987, while the following year crack miler Soviet Star shone for Andre Fabre and France.

Royal Academy was another brilliant miler to win the July Cup, and now it is last year’s Guineas hero Notable Speech who gets his chance for Charlie Appleby and William Buick, having so far this year been fourth in both the Lockinge Stakes and Queen Anne.

Buick – on a high this week after recording his 2,000th career success in Britain – said: “I’ll tell you after the race whether it was the correct decision or not!

William Buick is fresh from riding his 2,000th winner
William Buick is fresh from riding his 2,000th winner (Steven Paston for The Jockey Club)

“He’s only ever raced over a mile and he is a very speedy miler, which the good milers usually are. I’ve always felt he could drop back in trip, certainly to seven furlongs, and I know Charlie has earmarked the City of York as one of his possible targets.

“Obviously we won’t know fully about six furlongs until we try it, but it’s worth a try. He’s a horse with loads of speed and if he can adapt to that early pace and be within himself, I think he’ll be there with a very good shot.”

Reflecting on his Ascot performance, Buick said: “He was unlucky and it was such a nightmare of a race. They went so slow and we were in a pocket and it was just one of those races you couldn’t take too much out of. Sadly, we just had to put a line through it and move on.

“Once the dust settled, Charlie and the team thought long and hard about this race for him and we’ll give it a go.

“It’s a different thing to what he has done. If you go back to the Guineas he won, that was a strongly-run Guineas run at a fast pace throughout and he’s a horse with a high cruising speed, so I hope that he will give himself every chance to travel within himself early in the race, wherever he’s happy.”

Appleby also runs Symbol Of Honour, who had been among the ante-post favourites until his stablemate was supplemented.

The trainer said: “On their home work they’re chalk and cheese, but Symbol Of Honour has always been like that and when he gets on the racecourse he’s just tough – he gets out on the pace and grinds it out.

“Notable Speech, without stating the obvious, is the class horse going into the race.

“When Will got off him at Kempton last year he said the English Guineas might be a bit stiff for him, but obviously he went and won the English Guineas and from there on he’s only ever run over a mile.

“But from what I saw in the Lockinge and although it was hard to assess Ascot because they went steady, he is a supreme traveller and I felt he’s got plenty to gain by running here on Saturday and nothing to lose.”

The ever-growing Wathnan Racing run three, but it was not a hard choice for retained rider James Doyle to pick Andrew Balding’s Flora Of Bermuda following her sterling effort when third at Royal Ascot.

“I haven’t actually had a chance to sit on her recently but I did her ride her before, albeit as a two-year-old,” said Doyle.

“I’m sure she’ll be a little bit different to the last time I sat on her, but I had a good chat with Andrew about whether it was a good idea to come down and he felt she’s very straightforward. He said there are no issues there, he didn’t think.

“Her two wins did come with ease in the ground and I’m sure one day that that might help her, but her best form  – her last run and some other bits of form –  came on very quick ground.

“When she ran behind Kind Of Blue there was plenty of ease in the ground but she’s shown to be very versatile.

“I don’t think it’s too much of a worry and she’s not a big, heavy filly, she’s quite light on her feet.”

Wathnan are also represented by Karl Burke’s Night Raider and the Tom Clover-trained Rogue Lightning.

Whistlejacket has winning form on the July course
Whistlejacket has winning form on the July course (Joe Giddens/PA)

Aidan O’Brien last won the race in 2019 with Ten Sovereigns and 12 months prior to that with another three-year-old, US Navy Flag. He runs Whistlejacket from the Classic generation this year.

Paul Smith of owners Coolmore said: “He’s working very well at home, but I see the money is coming for him and I don’t know where that money is coming from.

“He’s in good form, he’s a quality horse and was a good two-year-old, so we’re looking forward to seeing him run on Saturday.”

Guineas hero Notable Speech to add spice to July Cup

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Charlie Appleby’s Notable Speech is to have his first race over six furlongs in the Al Basti Equiworld July Cup at Newmarket on Saturday.

Last year’s 2000 Guineas winner impressed connections enough in a gallop over the weekend to earn his place in the premier sprint.

A post on Godolphin’s X account read: “Update from Moulton Paddocks: Following a very pleasing piece of work over the weekend, the decision has been made to supplement Dubawi’s 2,000 Guineas hero Notable Speech for the G1 July Cup @NewmarketRace.”

Since he made his debut on the all-weather in January 2024, Notable Speech has been campaign exclusively over a mile, with his career highlight coming on the Rowley Mile last May.

At the time he was still unbeaten and while he has found things tougher since then, he did win the Sussex Stakes at Goodwood.

This season he has been fourth in both the Lockinge Stakes at Newbury and the Queen Anne at Royal Ascot.

Notable Speech features among 16 contenders for the July Cup following the confirmation stage and is one of two supplementary entries for owners Godolphin, with Sheikh Mohammed’s operation also stumping up the required £36,000 to add John and Thady Gosden’s Jersey Stakes runner-up Spy Chief to the field.

Symbol Of Honour (centre) is a second leading contender for Charlie Appleby
Symbol Of Honour (centre) is another leading contender for Charlie Appleby (Steven Paston/PA)

The Godolphin blue could also be carried by Notable Speech’s stablemate Symbol Of Honour, who has won four of his five starts this year and was last seen edging out Arabian Dusk in the Group Two Sandy Lane Stakes at Haydock in May.

Andrew Balding’s Flora Of Bermuda, who finished third in the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot, is one of three potential runners for Wathnan Racing along with the Tom Clover-trained Rogue Lightning and Night Raider from Karl Burke’s yard.

The latter faltered after making much of the running in the King Charles III Stakes at the Royal meeting and his trainer hopes he can fare better over a furlong further this weekend.

Burke said: “Night Raider is a very quick horse, there’s no doubt about it, but I think he’s a horse that likes to get into a rhythm and he’s more chance of getting into that rhythm over six furlongs than he does over five.

“I think over five at the top level they jump and go so hard early and he’s a horse that likes to jump and get into a nice rhythm, which I think he has more chance of doing over six and he obviously can stay seven as well.

“Six is the ideal trip, whether he’s up to a Group One at this stage of his career we’ll find out on Saturday.”

Other leading hopes include Kevin Ryan’s Inisherin, Aidan O’Brien’s Whistlejacket and top-class mare Believing, who is in foal to Frankel and is set to make her final career start before retirement for trainer George Boughey.