Lethal Force blitzes his rivals to stamp himself Europe’s sprint champion

Lethal Force is crowned the sprint king of Europe after today’s Darley July Cup. Image courtesy of racingfotos.com.

It was almost a carbon copy of the Diamond Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot with Lethal Force, unquestionably now Europe’s champion sprinter and the best in this country for several years, making all the running to beat Society Rock by a length and a half.

At Ascot the distance between them was two lengths, but this time Society Rock was quickly away and never far behind the leader.

It made no difference to the result, however, with nothing able to land a blow against Clive Cox’s speed machine who broke the July Course track record which had stood for 14 years.

The third horse in the Diamond Jubilee, Krypton Factor, was denied a run having broken out of the starting stalls before the start of the race, so it was left to the improving Slade Power to snatch third place from Shea Shea and Sole Power, the first two from the King’s Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Cox said: “I am so proud of him because he has always promised.

"Even when he won at Royal Ascot they kind of said he was lucky and that it was a good ride.

“But he confirmed today that he is pretty good. He has done that nicely.

“He came back from Ascot really well and he was cherry ripe again today.

"My only concern was the track – the undulations – as he was a little bit inclined to get unbalanced in his earlier days. But he has put that to bed really well.

“This is very special and I’m delighted to win. The course record is something I will cherish.

“You dream of days like this – it’s why you get up in the morning. It’s just amazing.”

Asked as to Lethal Force’s next assignment, Cox said: “All the major sprints are on the agenda, so we will see how he comes back.

“He will give us a clear indication. There are lots of nice options and beyond that we’ve had kind invitations from Australia and Hong Kong but we will take it one step at a time.”

Winning rider Adam Kirby said: “He is class. I jumped him out and he got into a beautiful rhythm and everything was going nicely to plan.

“But just after the two-furlong marker I had to give him a smack and he jinked and nearly slipped. But he is a very, very good horse.

“Clive said there was no plan – he leaves it to me and it is a pleasure to ride for him.”