Newmarket Saturday

Al Basti Equiworld, Dubai July Cup Stakes (Group 1)

COMANCHE Brave (Donnacha O’Brien/Billy Loughnane) caused an 11/1 upset in the Group 1 Al Basti Equiworld Dubai July Cup at Newmarket on Saturday, beating Venetian Sun (Karl Burke/Clifford Lee) and favourite Satono Reve (Noriyuki Hori/Christophe Lemaire) in a race run in top-of-the-ground conditions.

The winner was producing an improved effort having finished unplaced in the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot, where Satono Reve was a close second.

Satono Reve was sent off 2/1 favourite after that fine Royal Ascot run, but once again had to play a supporting role as Comanche Brave led a furlong out and found plenty under pressure to score by a length and a neck from the placed pair.

Venetian Sun had beaten her own age group in the Commonwealth Cup and improved again to show herself a match for her elders in finishing a highly-creditable second. There were few excuses in behind, although Big Mojo and Quinault raced by themselves on the stands’ rail, which was clearly not the place to be, and can be forgiven their efforts as a result.

The winner and second are likely to meet each other again in the Sprint Cup at Haydock in September, although Comanche Brave is also entered in the Group 1 City of York Stakes next month.

Lovely ride

Donnacha O’Brien said: “He travelled beautifully and Billy gave him a lovely ride; it was an easy watch. There’s not much margin between these sprinters, and he’s won a Group 2 so where else is there to go but keep trying to win Group 1s?

“We weren’t afraid to try it, and I said to Billy just let him jump. I thought he travelled very impressively. He doesn’t do a lot when he gets to the front, but I thought he was impressive.

“He’s in all the big sprints going forward. We want to win Group 1s, that is the goal of our stable. I probably pitch horses in at the deep end sometimes, but the goal is the same.”

Rest of the Card

THE 5/2 shot Al Hudaiba (Charlie Appleby/William Buick) took the Group 2 Boodles Superlative Stakes, getting the better of odds-on favourite Abraham Lincoln (Aidan O’Brien/Ryan Moore) in the last stride to record a short-head success.

The seven-furlong juvenile contest often points towards the autumn’s better two-year-old races, and this performance marked Al Hudaiba down as a genuine contender for the National Stakes and the Dewhurst down the line.

Winner of a course and distance novice on his previous start, Al Hudaiba, a son of Dark Angel, was taking a sharp rise in class, but took it in his stride despite again hanging to his left, a trait he showed markedly when unseating his rider at Yarmouth in May.

Tom Marquand was the unfortunate rider that day, and Buick said after the race that the hardest thing was staying on board when Al Hudaiba veered towards the far rail in the closing stages.

Stay on

Appleby said: “As William said, in the first half of the race we were happy where we were, then all of a sudden, he starts just shifting underneath you. He said it’s just a job to stay on, let alone to try and get him to gallop out.

“I wasn’t confident when we were getting as close as that, with the luck I’ve had over the recent few weeks. I was sort of confident once he got his head down and started to rally again that he would get there, because he has got a lot of ability this horse.”

Asked about the colt’s quirks, he added: “Yeah, he even unseated Tom a couple of starts back. Is that something he’s going to grow out of? I hope so. Whether it’s we just need to put something around his head there, make him concentrate a little bit harder.

“He’s typical of those horses that finds life very easy, because he has that engine, but if he’s going to start stepping up into bigger leagues, he’s going to have to concentrate a bit harder.”

Bunbury Cup

Winner of the race in 2024 and beaten a whisker by More Thunder last year, Aalto (Ian Williams/William Buick) added his name to the list of multiple winners of the Betway Bunbury Cup by defeating Back In Black (James Fanshawe/Dan Muscutt) by half a length in the meeting’s feature handicap.

Mine won the race three times early this century for James Bethell, while more recently, Motakhayyel won back-to-back renewals for Richard Hannon.

Sent off the 4/1 favourite having come back to form with a course and distance second on his latest start, Aalto had become very well handicapped and showed his ability remains fully intact with a typical barnstorming finish, having been held up in rear in the early stages.

Ian Williams isn’t ruling out a fourth bid for his star, saying: “These big handicaps are important to win and we got him here in good nick for another crack. He loves the July course, as we do, and hopefully he can come back and have another crack next year.

“He’s unlucky not to have won it three times already, having run into a Group horse last year.”

Ascot Saturday

Summer Mile Stakes (Group 2)

ZEUS Olympios (Karl Burke/Sam James) bounced back from defeats in the Lockinge and Queen Anne to land the Group 2 Juddmonte Summer Mile Stakes at Ascot on Saturday, leading home a Burke-trained 1-2, as Holloway Boy (Karl Burke/Callum Rodriguez) finished a half-length second, with Seagulls Eleven (Hugo Palmer/David Probert) a head away in third.

The 7/2 winner led early before being settled on the inside and showed a good turn of foot to take command at the furlong pole. More Thunder was made favourite at evens, but he was only fourth, having failed to make significant late inroads from off the pace.

“Zeus Olympios ran very good races in the Lockinge and the Queen Anne,” said Liam O’Rourke, racing manager for the late Sheikh Mohammed Obaid. “But I think he really relished the round course today.

Turn of foot

“They didn’t go a great pace, but he’s got a nice turn of foot either way and I wouldn’t rule out going further with him as time progresses, and he might even stay in training.

“I’d imagine we’d stick to a mile for the time being, but I think the Sussex Stakes is unlikely. If we’re looking at mile races, it’s pretty much the Prix Jacques le Marois or the Prix du Moulin.

“We can maybe look at stretching him out in the autumn. He was a good horse in the autumn last year and I hope he can go on improving.”

Around The Tracks

YORK’s famous John Smith’s Cup went to Ray Dawson and Roger Varian with 5/1 shot Raamme hitting the front a furlong out and, although wavering in front, held off Hand Of God fairly comfortably for a three-quarter-length success, The unlucky horse was Danger Bay, who finished fifth and did not get a clear run through. Following a stewards’ enquiry, Salam Dubawi - who originally finished third was disqualified and placed fifth - caused interference.

There was further group success for the Andrew Balding stable, with Mount Atlas 2/1 in the mile and six Group 3 John Smith’s Silver Cup Stakes. The son of Masar holding favourite Tabletalk by a head and giving winning jockey P.J. McDonald a treble on the card.

Chester

There was listed action at Chester on Saturday, with the Raymond & Kathleen Corbett Memorial City Plate Stakes going to Northern Champion (Ed Walker/Ashley Lewis) at odds of 13/2.

The son of Wootton Bassett was a little out of his depth in the Commonwealth Cup, but benefited from the ease in grade to beat Dash of Azure (Ralph Beckett/Eddy Greatrex) and Holguin (Hamad Al Jehani/Faleh Bughenaim) by a neck and three-parts of a length. This was a first blacktype success for the winning jockey, who is still an apprentice.

At Perth on Sunday, Gordon Elliott struck in the opening race as 6/4 favourite Holy Joe landed the Book Your Christmas Party (gulp) Novices’ Hurdle under Rian Corcoran, with the win a sixth for Elliott in the 2026/27 season in the UK.