Darley July Cup |
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| Group 1, Newmarket 16:25 £450,000 added, 3yo plus, 6f, Class 1  |
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| Saturday 10th July 2021 | |
1 Starman 9/2
2 Dragon Symbol 7/2F
3 Oxted 11/2
4 Art Power 14/1
19 ran Distances: 1¼l, shd, nk
Time: 1m 10.11s (fast by 0.19s)
A five-star performance!
— Newmarket Racecourse (@NewmarketRace) July 10, 2021
Starman flies home to win the @DarleyStallions July Cup Stakes for @edwalkerracing and @tommarquand#JulyFestival pic.twitter.com/ajNeHyJ39z
Always held in the highest regard by his trainer – who took the brave decision not to run in the Diamond Jubilee at Royal Ascot when the heavens opened – the Duke of York Stakes winner Starman went off 9-2 here and looked like he had a bit to do over a furlong out.
But once meeting the highest ground, Marquand’s mount found overdrive to beat favourite Dragon Symbol and defending champion Oxted by a length and a quarter and a short head in this famous Group One sprint.
Art Power, who had blazed a trail on the far side, was just behind in fourth place.
Walker, saddling his first Group One winner, said: “It’s great. It’s taken its time, but better late than never as they say.
“I always believed so much in this horse. I put a lot of pressure on myself and it’s great that belief has been vindicated.
“His only blip was on bad ground at Ascot last season and we’ve been proved to have made the right call in missing the Royal meeting.
“I hoped he’d win a Group One and we dreamed that he’ll be a sprinter of a generation.
“A horse that was going through the grades as quickly as he was, you have to dream.”
While normally unwavering in his faith of his stable star, Walker admitted to having some pre-race doubts ahead of his latest assignment.
“He was so professional at York and today I was really negative before the race. He was messing around (in the pre-parade ring) and if you’d spoken to me then I’d have been pretty doom and gloom,” the trainer added.
“You always dream with a horse like this. They’re all champions when they walk into the yard, but this horse has never let us down.”
Darley July Cup
(British Champions Series and Global Sprint Challenge) (Group 1)
£450,000 added, 3yo plus, 6f, Class 1
19 ran
Going: Good to Firm, Good in places
1 (4) Starman 4 9-6 Ed Walker Tom Marquand 9/2
2 (6) 1¼ Dragon Symbol 3 9-0 Archie Watson Oisin Murphy 7/2F
3 (16) shd Oxted 5 9-6 Roger Teal Cieren Fallon 11/2
4 (17) nk Art Power 4 9-6 Tim Easterby Silvestre De Sousa 14/1
5 (3) nk Creative Force 3 9-0 Charlie Appleby William Buick 5/1
6 (14) nk Glen Shiel 7 9-6 Archie Watson Hollie Doyle 25/1
7 (1) ½ Brando 9 9-6 Kevin Ryan Tom Eaves 150/1
8 (9) 1 Garrus 5 9-6 Charles Hills Rossa Ryan 66/1
9 (8) nk Chil Chil 5 9-3 Andrew Balding Rob Hornby 25/1
10 (18) ¾ Rohaan 3 9-0 David Evans Shane Kelly 15/2
11 (15) hd Emaraaty Ana 5 9-6 Kevin Ryan Jack Mitchell 100/1
12 (11) nse Glorious Journey 6 9-6 Charlie Appleby James Doyle 25/1
13 (5) nse Line Of Departure 3 9-0 Roger Varian David Egan 80/1
14 (12) 2½ Extravagant Kid 8 9-6 Brendan P Walsh Frankie Dettori 25/1
15 (19) shd Supremacy 3 9-0 Clive Cox Adam Kirby 40/1
16 (2) 2½ Method 3 9-0 Martyn Meade Sean Levey 33/1
17 (13) ¾ Summerghand 7 9-6 David O'Meara Martin Harley 80/1
18 (10) 1 Miss Amulet 3 8-11 K J Condon W J Lee 33/1
19 (7) 3½ Good Effort 6 9-6 Ismail Mohammed Ray Dawson 150/1
