Straight From The Horses Mouth 14/7/12

Straight From The Trainers Mouth

Godolphin

3:20 Newmarket – Sepoy  9/1

Sepoy disappointed in Dubai and I am not sure why he ran badly - maybe it was the surface or the travelling from Australia. He looks in good form at the moment and is doing everything the right way. Soft ground should suit him because he won the Manikato Stakes on similar ground. His form in Australia was very impressive and it will be interesting to see how it compares with the form of European horses.

Sepoy

2:10 Newmarket – Artigiano 6/1
Artigiano has improved since Royal Ascot and he looks in really good form. The step up to seven furlongs will suit him much better and a nice pace will play to his strengths. I am hopeful of another good run
3:10 Newbury – Soul 9/4
I was very pleased with Soul’s run in the Diamond Jubilee Stakes and he came out of the race sound and healthy. Six furlongs is his optimum trip and I am looking forward to seeing how he gets on at Newbury in this Group Three.

Roger Varian
3:00 York – Miijaar 4/1
Mijhaar ran a great race at Ascot and seems to have come out of that run in good shape. He has run well at the track before, a mile and a quarter is his optimum trip and soft ground holds no fears for him. The John Smith’s Cup is one of the most competitive races of the season but if he can reproduce his recent performances then he should be thereabouts
3:55 Newmarket – Rocky Ground 6/4
We have declared Rocky Ground for a conditions race at Newmarket. I think he will be a better horse on quick ground but he won well on debut and seems in good form at home.

Brian Meehan
MORTITIA (Chester 3.25 p.m.) Talented filly missed her intended Yarmouth handicap assignment in favour of this Listed race. Seven furlongs seems to suit her, but whether her wide draw will prove an insurmountable disadvantage has to be seen.

Richard Fahey
1:40 Newmarket – Chapter Seven 12/1
Chapter Seven has won a couple of big handicaps ahead of the 32Red Casino Handicap at Newmarket and things are gettng tougher for him but he loves soft ground and more rain would help him. It is quite a competitive race and there could be another decent prize in him so we will see what happens
2:15 Chester – Boom and Bloom SP
Boom and Bloom heads to Chester for the Win VW Up! On Easysix At chesterBET Maiden Auction Stakes and the trip will be sharp enough around there but the soft ground will help. She is very tough and genuine and deserves to win a race so hopefully she can start here. She looks likely to be favourite and deserves to be so hopefully she can win for her owner.
2:40 Newmarket – Castles In The Air 25/1 & Sir Reginald 50/1
I run Castles In The Air and Sir Reginald in the 32Red Bunbury Cup at Newmarket and both are owned by Jim McGrath. I am a little worried about the ground for the pair of them so it depends if the rain comes or not. Castles was a bit disappointing in the Buckingham Palace Stakes at Ascot and Richard Hughes was not very complimentary after the race but we are happy with him and we'll see what happens.Sir Reginald went to Dubai and it flipped his lid out there and he didn't enjoy it. He just needs to get his confidence back and both need to get back to their very best to be challenging here.
3:00 York – Take It To The Max 33/1 & Area Fifty One 8/1
I have two runners in the 53rd John Smith's Cup at York with Take It To The Max and Area Fifty One and the draw is not too bad in three and 10 respectively. It mightn't be so much the case in soft ground but I feel you need to be 10 or below. I'm not convinced that Take It To The Max quite stays this trip but he will travel and that's a big thing in this race. At his very best, he would have a small chance of getting the trip. We're very happy with Area Fifty One who was bought to run in this race by Marwan Koukash. It would be nice to win it again and, if I do, I have a feeling it will be him and he does have a good chance. We're taking five pounds off him with Shane B Kelly and that will also help but it is a tough race.
3:20 Newmarket – Mayson 25/1
Mayson has been a bit disappointing on his last couple of runs ahead of the Darley July Cup at Newmarket. It was just desperate ground at Newcastle last time and he couldn't get his feet out of it. He likes the other course at Newmarket and everything is fine for him so I'd be delighted if he could get placed. It would be brilliant to see him win but he would have to be at his very best - we shall see what happens.
3:25 Chester – Majestic Myles 7/2
Majestic Myles goes in the Listed chesterBET City Plate and Chester over seven furlongs is where he wants to be. He won this race last year and has been running really solidly all season and his last effort was probably the run of his life. I'd love him to win as he's very genuine and honest and, if I had to pick a track and trip for him, then this would be it. Hopefully he will win.


Hayley Turner


14:25 York - Suraj 7/2

Suraj could get me off to the best possible start in the John Smith’s Silver Cup. He’s won two of his four starts – both under me – and his last win at Doncaster was very impressive indeed.
I think he’s a horse with real ability, he’ll like the soft ground and the guv’nor won this race last year with Tactician, which is a good omen. He ticks all the right boxes.

3:00 York - Stand To Reason 20/1

It’s nice to have a ride in one of the biggest handicaps of the season, the John Smith’s Cup, in which I’m on Stand To Reason for Mikael Magnusson. I’ve never sat on him before so there’s not much I can tell you outside of looking at the formbook. He’s won twice on soft ground, is lightly raced, got hampered last time at Royal Ascot so could be better than that bare form suggests, and has won over this trip before too.

3:35 York - Calendonia Lady 10/1

Caledonia Lady makes a quick reappearance in the five-furlong Listed race following her last-gasp win at Sandown last week. I got a few pats on the back for that ride, but it could so easily have been a bad ride, as we endured a nightmare run. Such are the fine lines and centimetres can make the difference between being a hero and a villain!
She didn’t come off the bridle last week so hardly had a race and you need to make the most of these sprinters when they’re in form , so it’s definitely a case of ‘let’s strike while the iron’s hot.’ She must have a great chance.

Ryan Moore

13:40
Sir John Hawkwood
Had shown us ability at home prior to his debut at Windsor in May but, even so, you had to be impressed by his 5 length win there over 1m2f in the soft. However, while the second has subsequently run two fair races in defeat, he arguably hasn't boosted the form, so I think a mark of 92 is hardly generous for my horse. Also, the step back to 1m is not ideal, but this has been a very difficult horse to place because, as a once-raced maiden winner, he doesn't qualify for heritage handicaps or for the bigger races.
But he is a horse I like for all the negatives, and hopefully he will go well. He only gets 3lb from Bronze Angel, who was unlucky not to finish closer than a 3 length third in the Britannia, so he certainly doesn't look well treated to me on the evidence of the Windsor win alone. And there are equally unexposed horses in here like Asatir and Fluctuate to contend with. But he goes well at home, and is proven in testing conditions.
14:10
I haven't got a ride in this, but I really liked Lines Of Battle when I rode him in the Coventry. He was drawn on the wrong side there but he pleased me in finishing sixth and is a gorgeous horse. The soft ground would be a worry but today's 7f is what he needs, and he will run well if handling the conditions. Olympic Glory, second in the Coventry, is the obvious favourite.
14:40
Bonnie Brae
Didn't run up to her best for me in the Hunt Cup but 7f on soft ground is what she wants, and she has that here. Granted she may not be the best handicapped horse in the race - she is 9lb higher than when winning at Doncaster last season and 3lb higher than when a good second for me at Ascot in May - but she will handle the conditions, and that means more than a pound or two either way. I can see her going well but this is a 20-runner Bunbury Cup, so you cannot be confident.
15:20
Society Rock
Let's just say that I am very happy to have got the ride on Society Rock. I think Strong Suit and Bated Breath are probably the best horses in the race but neither will be suited by the soft ground, if indeed they take their chances. The draw could be important here, so I don't know if I am ideally drawn in 12 of 15.
But, apart from that unknown, I have a lot going for me. A lot of people may have the horse down as an Ascot specialist and it is clear he has an excellent record there. But I just think that has a lot to do with James having him primed him for those races. And the horse was clearly unlucky in the Diamond Jubilee last time, as indeed he was at York first time up. He fell out of the stalls at Ascot and did well to be beaten by just 2 lengths into 5th behind Black Caviar. In fact, he ran a similar kind of race to that when he was beaten around 5 lengths by Starspangledbanner in this race two years ago. If he gets off on level terms, you have to think he will play a leading role in the finish on ground that suits.
This doesn't look to be a strong July Cup so the likes of Libranno, tough, fourth in this last season and in good form coming into the race, could be a danger if getting an easy lead. He looks a decent win and place bet at around 17.0, with no real pace in the race.
Ortensia probably won't find the ground to her liking, but Fire Lily is interesting. I rode her to finish fourth in the Queen Mary and there probably isn't a more honest horse in the race. She is fast, in form, goes in the soft and gets all the allowances here. She would normally lack the class to win a July Cup but, as I said, this isn't the strongest one I have seen.
15:55
Hasopop
I was taken by Rocky Ground's Yarmouth win and I suspect we all have that horse to beat, though Bircham won well at Ripon and The Taj has his sights lowered after running in the Coventry last time. In fact, The Taj beat Hasopop by 2 1/4 lengths at Doncaster last month and we meet on the same terms here. That suggests we are up against it but Hasopop looked to improve when winning a fair maiden at Yarmouth last time and hopefully is on the upgrade. He probably needs to improve a fair bit again to win this, though.
16:30
Echion
On what he has shown to date, I think he could have a few pounds too much here on a mark of 75. I rode him when he finished second in the soft at Leicester, and he went on to run another decent race at Salisbury. In his favour, he is a tough horse who handles soft ground and whose pedigree suggests the step up to 7f will suit. But it could be that there are one or two better handicapped horses in here.
17:05
Mountain Range
Won well in the soft at Sandown last July, so I suppose it was slightly disappointing that he couldn't get closer than he did in the same conditions over the same course and distance last time, and has to prove his effectiveness over this longer trip. But he is at least slipping down the handicap, and could go well if returning to his best.