July Cup in the Cards for Threat

MGSW Threat (Ire) (Footstepsinthesand {GB}) will take his chance in the G1 Darley July Cup at Newmarket rather than head to France this weekend. Trainer Richard Hannon had earmarked Sunday’s seven-furlong G1 Prix Jean Prat for last year’s G2 Gimcrack S. winner–but he has had a change of heart. Threat finished fifth to Palace Pier (GB) (Kingman {GB}) over a mile in the G1 St James’s Palace S. on his only outing to date this season.

Hannon told his website www.richardhannonracing.co.uk: “As long as there are no last-minute glitches, the plan is for Threat to take his chance in the Darley July Cup at Newmarket on Saturday. We were originally looking at the Prix Jean Prat in France. But the ground there is very soft at the moment, and I don’t really want to run him on that surface in what looks a hot little race.

“That’s not to say the July Cup is any easier, but I just think the drop back to six furlongs might be just what he needs, and he hasn’t got much to find with Golden Horde (Ire) (Lethal Force {Ire})–and he’ll be favourite–so it makes sense to have a crack at this prize. He’s come out of Ascot in great shape, and might even come on for it a little bit as well. Oisin Murphy maintains the ride.”

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£400k Raised During Royal Ascot at Home

A total of £400,000 was raised by frontline charities during Royal Ascot this year. Approximately £166,000 was contributed by the #StyledWithThanks programme, and Ascot Racecourse’s direct fundraising benefitted The NationalEmergencies Trust Relief Fund, NH Charities Together, The Care Workers Charity and the Berkshire Community Foundation Coronavirus Fund. Prizes were awarded for Most Elegant, Most Uplifting and Most Original as judged by a panel of fashion industry experts. An online auction of rainbow-themed hats-in partnership with the British Hat Guild-generated £24,000, and the campaign was given another £30,000 boost when 2020 Royal Ascot Champion Jockey Frankie Dettori signed and donated his commemorative ’70th Royal Ascot win’ saddlecloth. Other charitable contributions were raised by the sale of 2020 Ascot Jockey Bears, a £5 donation from the sale of each Royal Ascot Afternoon Tea and 20% of sales from the new Ascot Wine Club. Betting and Gaming council members, among them many of the UK’s leading bookmakers also pledged £250,000 to be distributed between Prostate Cancer UK, Marie Curie, The Care Workers Charity and the Berkshire Community Foundation Coronavirus Fund around an initiative that centred on the Britannia S. on Gold Cup Day. Jockeys riding on the final day of Royal Ascot donated all of their riding fees.

“We are delighted with the response of the public and the racing, betting and fashion industries to all the charitable initiatives that took place during and around Royal Ascot,” said Ascot Racecourse Director of Racing & Public Affairs. “The rainbow montage tribute of photos sent in as part of our #StyledWithThanks campaign will be a permanent reminder of the year when all elements of what makes Royal Ascot so special came together to support a range of national and local charities.”

For the full details, go to www.ascot.co.uk/ascot-racecourse.

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Guineas Sale Heads Tattersalls’ July Action

NEWMARKET, UK—This week would normally be one of Newmarket’s finest. Top-class racing, the Tattersalls July Sale, stallion parades and parties.

As Britain reawakes from lockdown, the business end of the bloodstock world has managed to operate almost normally and racing has been back in action since early June behind closed doors, meaning that we have a July Week of sorts, albeit one without all the fun.

The rearranged breeze-up sales have just two fixtures left, Wednesday’s belated Guineas Sale at Tattersalls which leads straight into two days of a reduced July Sale, and the Tattersalls Ireland Goresbridge Sale on July 24.

It’s been a long haul for the majority of the breeze-up consignors who left Ireland almost three weeks ago and have been on the move between sales in Newmarket and Doncaster since then. Generally, the breeze-up market has held up better than most dared to dream, and, naturally, the hope is for that trend will continue on Wednesday when trade gets underway for the single session at Park Paddocks.

After withdrawals, around 120 2-year-olds will be offered including a full-sister to the G2 Lancashire Oaks winner Lady Tiana (GB) and listed-winning stayer Blakeney Point (GB), both of whom are by Sir Percy (GB). The filly is offered as lot 25 through Tally-Ho Stud and is fairly typical of the profile of horse usually found in the Guineas Sale, which tends to include a later-maturing type. Indeed, the sale’s most famous graduate is the Gold Cup winner Trip To Paris (Ire) (Champs Elysees {GB}), who was sold by Mocklershill to Federico Barberini for 20,000gns back in 2013. A durable and talented individual who raced until the age of six, earning more than £800,000 during his career, he was however out and winning as early as July of his juvenile season.

The Sherbourne Lodge Stud draft contains a French-bred colt (lot 148) by this season’s leading freshman sire Goken (Fr) who already has ten winners to his name including the G3 Prix du Bois winner Livachope (Fr), while Robson Aguiar, the man behind the G2 Norfolk S. winner The Lir Jet (Ire) (Prince Of Lir {Ire}) has a colt from the first crop of dual Derby winner Harzand (Ire) (lot 40) whose dam is a Dutch Art (GB) half-sister to recent G1 Commonwealth Cup winner Golden Horde (Ire) (Lethal Force {Ire}).

On Thursday and Friday the action switches to the mixed fare of the July Sale and it was from here that Golden Horde’s dam Entreat (GB) was sold by Cheveley Park Stud four years ago for just 14,000gns. The dams of fellow Group 1 winners Fairyland (Ire), Ten Sovereigns (Ire) and Watch Me (Fr) have also been sourced from this sale in recent years and breeders are likely to make a beeline for sizeable drafts from Cheveley Park Stud, Godolphin and Juddmonte among others.

Barton Stud consigns the French mare Damdam Freeze (Fr) (Indian Rocket {GB}), who has already produced the stakes winner Kendam (Fr) and Kenfreeze (Fr), both by Kendargent (Fr), and the family has received a further boost this season via Kendam’s son Kenway (Fr) (Galiway {GB}), the winner of the G3 Prix Eclipse. The 15-year-old Damdam Freeze is in foal to Showcasing on a June 3 cover and is offered as lot 373.

The dam of one of the toughest horses currently in training, Prince Of Arran (GB) (Shirocco {Ger}), is also included in Thursday’s session and she is the 14-year-old Storming Sioux (GB), a daughter of Storming Home (GB). Selling through Jamie Railton as lot 229, she is carrying a foal by Elwick Stud’s Mondialiste (Ire) and was last covered on May 18.

Wednesday’s session for the Guineas Sale begins at 12 noon and for Thursday and Friday the July Sale will start at 10am. Live internet bidding is available via the Tattersalls website and prospective buyers are asked to register for this service in advance of the sale.

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Juddmonte International Purse Reduced

Prize money for this year’s G1 Juddmonte International S. at York has been cut to £275,000 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year’s Group 1 was worth £1 million but with racing currently taking place behind closed doors after a delayed start to the season, the track’s revenue has taken a serious hit, with the venue underlining “80% of prior year annual revenues for York Racecourse flowed from the presence of a gathering, either on a raceday or as part of our extensive non raceday events programme, none of whom have been permitted at the venue since mid-March.”

The track has hailed the contributions from the Horseracing Betting Levy Board (HBLB) and sponsors with the G1 Darley Yorkshire Oaks, G1 Coolmore Nunthorpe and Sky Bet Ebor all set to carry a purse of £250,000 as other feature races. The G2 Al Basti Equiworld Dubai Gimcrack, G2 Weatherbys Hamilton Lonsdale Cup and G2 Sky Bet City of York S. will have £100,000 purses with the Sky Bet-sponsored G2 Great Voltigeur S. and G2 Lowther S. both offering £75,000. The European Breeders’ Fund will back five races, headlined by the £35,000 Listed Sir Henry Cecil Galtres S., and including two of the three new class two handicaps worth £30,000 that have been added to the race programme.

York kicks off its season on Thursday and chairman, Lord Grimthorpe, said, “We are delighted to be back racing at York, albeit initially behind closed doors. Despite challenging circumstances for all, we have tried to put our best foot forward with an incredibly exciting race programme and an investment in prize money well above industry agreed levels. We are hugely appreciative and grateful for the wonderful support of our sponsors, annual badgeholders, partners and all who make York Racecourse so special.

“While we look forward to the day we can welcome the return of spectators and supporters to York Racecourse, in the meantime I hope that people will follow and enjoy the sport on their televisions and mobile devices.”

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