The July Summer Festival meeting at Newmarket continued overnight with the Group I July Cup (6f) for the sprinters producing a complete blow out result, while the Group II Superlative Stakes (7f) for 2YO’s was won by a Godolphin homebred from the family of their Aussie G1 star Zardozi.
Invincible Spirit stallion Cable Bay shuttled to Victoria for four seasons from 2017 and while he did not achieve commercial success, he did give us a Group I winning sprinter in Uncommon James and he added a second G1 winner to his tally in the July Cup.
Trained by Richard Hughes and ridden by Neil Callan, four year-old mare No Half Measures went off at odds of 66-1, but made a lie of her bolter’s price to score a neck win over two more long shots in Big Mojo (12-1) and Run to Freedom (40-1).
A Group III and Listed winner last year, No Half Measures soared to new heights with this victory and has the overall record of seven wins and three placings from 14 starts.
“She won a handicap here last year and when Ryan (Moore) got off her I asked will we get a bit of black type for her? He said she's better than that - Ryan never says things like that! He's a realist,” revealed her trainer Richard Hughes, who was ecstatic to saddle his first G1 winner.
“We plotted to get her back here and she has done nothing but improve. There was very little pressure today really. Drawn 15 I wasn't mad about so I said to Neil ride her to be third and hopefully you'll get a little bit of cover.
“At halfway, I thought she was going OK and then I just held my head as I couldn't believe what was happening! I kept thinking she is going to get caught and I would have been pleased with second or third.”
Purchased for £34,000 by her trainer from the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Sale, No Half Measures is the bets of two winners from Fascinator, a placed daughter of Australian bred triple Group I winner Helmet, who went to stud in the UK for Godolphin.
Helmet sired 18 stakes-winners with Dubai World Cup winner Thunder Snow, his lone GI winner and No Half Measures is his first G1 winner as a broodmare sire.
The Group II Superlative Stakes also delivered a surprise with Wootton Bassett expected to get a new stakes-winner in short priced favourite Italy, but he had to settle for second behind the Charlie Appleby trained Dubawi colt Saba Desert.
Ridden by William Buick, Saba Desert won on debut last month and kept his record perfect with a length and a quarter win over Italy, who did few things wrong and can improve.
“Saba Desert is a horse we liked from the get-go and were pleased with the way he did it at Sandown. He progressed from Sandown to here and we always try and find one for this race,” said Charlie Appleby.
“He is a lovely deep-girthed horse and we'll work back from a Dewhurst now. Whether we go the National Stakes or go to the Champagne and then the Dewhurst - we'll see.”
Saba Desert is the 304th stakes-winner for Dubawi and is the best of two winners from Finespun, a placed half-sister by Sea the Stars to Group I winner Ibn Khaldun from dual Group I winner Gossamer.
Gossamer has enjoyed much success at stud with her descendants including Group I winners Mischief Magic, Program Trading and the Aussie performed Zardozi.
