THERE is a huge week of racing in store at Newmarket as the three-day July Festival kicks off on Thursday. The feature race of the prestigious meeting is the Group 1 July Cup, an historic sprint which has produced some top-class performance over the years… 2003 Oasis Dream John Gosden’s speedball gained his revenge on […]
THERE is a huge week of racing in store at Newmarket as the three-day July Festival kicks off on Thursday.
The feature race of the prestigious meeting is the Group 1 July Cup, an historic sprint which has produced some top-class performance over the years…
John Gosden’s speedball gained his revenge on Aussie champ Choisir in an all-time Classic at the July Course.
Oasis Dream, who won the Middle Park as a two-year-old, was left eating Choisir’s dust when sent off favourite for the King’s Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot.
But Richard Hughes was never going to allow the wonder from Down Under too much rope here, and Oasis Dream moved up strongly to eyeball his big rival approaching the final furlong.
Neither horse wanted to lie down in a head-to-head tussle, but the top-class Oasis Dream asserted in impressive fashion close home to win going away.
Dream Ahead was a brilliant horse and, given that he butted heads with Frankel on a couple of occasions, he probably didn’t receive the praise he deserved.
A jaw-dropping winner of the Middle Park Stakes as a two-year-old, he didn’t stay over a mile in the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot but bounced back to his very best in the July Cup.
He weaved through the pack under Hayley Turner and stormed home to collar Bated Breath in the closing stage to score by half a length.
A proper champion sprinter – watch the replay here.
I can’t help but think ‘poor old Tropics‘ when I watch this race back.
He so nearly caused a huge upset for the Dean Ivory team, but he came up against an absolute top-notcher in Muhaarar.
Charlie Hills’ colt had won the Commonwealth Cup in impressive fashion prior to the July Festival.
And while he wasn’t at his sparkling best this day, he showed all the guts and determination of a champ to run down his rival in one of the most pulsating finishes in this race’s long and illustrious history.
