MULRENNAN HOPES FOR BIG THINGS FROM AZURE BLUE IN PERTEMPS NETWORK JULY CUP

Paul Mulrennan knows more than most about riding top-class sprinters, and he would not swap his Pertemps Network July Cup mount Azure Blue for anything.

Michael Dods’ impressive Duke of York Stakes winner is among nine declarations for the £600,000 six-furlong event, which is part of the 35-race QIPCO British Champions Series and is widely regarded as Europe’s sprint championship. Only last month’s Commonwealth Cup winner Shaquille is currently at shorter odds.

Mulrennan has won two Nunthorpes at York on Mecca’s Angel, who was also trained by Dods, and has also partnered Prix de l’Abbaye winners, Mabs Cross and Marsha, though not for their biggest wins. Easton Angel, Judicial, Markaz and Moviesta are among the others on whom he has won Pattern-level sprints, so he is well qualified to judge Azure Blue’s qualities, although he admits that hasn’t always been the case.

The July Cup is a great race and a prestigious one, and I wouldn’t swap Azure Blue for anything

“It’s amazing really because if you go back ten years or so the stats apparently said I was the worst sprint jockey in the country,” he revealed. “If that wasn’t bad enough, they said my wife Adele (now an ITV Racing pundit) was statistically the best, so I really had to up my game! 

“Much of that is due to the yards you are attached to and the sort of horses they specialise in, and since then I’ve got in with Michael, who is renowned as a good trainer of sprinters, especially fillies. I’ve been very lucky and I’ve been attached to plenty of good sprinters now, and a lot of them have been fillies like Azure Blue.”

Moving on to Azure Blue’s chance in Saturday’s big race, which has a new sponsor this year, he enthused: “I’m really looking forward to it. The July Cup is a great race and a prestigious one, and I wouldn’t swap Azure Blue for anything. She’s improved with her racing and she’s taking her races really well. 

“She wintered very well and is more like a colt. I think she weighs more than 500 kilos and has definitely got better with age. She’s only four too, so she will probably be better again next year. She seems to love Newmarket, as she’s won four times there, including on the July Course last year, and that’s a big thing as the two courses there are unique and test just about everything.”

Reflecting on the York win, where Azure Blue took the notable scalp of Highfield Princess, he said: “It went very smoothly and was very straightforward. She broke nicely and I was always able to follow the horse we had to beat, which was Highfield Princess, who is a three-time Group 1 winner. It was great to win a race like that at York, which is like Royal Ascot for those of us based in the north.”

Shaquille to slam dunk July Cup field?

Mulrennan has ridden plenty of winners for Shaquille’s trainer Julie Camacho and her partner Steve Brown, and he has a healthy respect for the strapping colt, who overcame a slow start at Royal Ascot with surprising ease and then breezed through to beat the favourite Little Big Bear going away in the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot.

“I’ve never sat on him but I’ve seen plenty of him and he’s a lovely big horse,” he said. “He’s another who seems to get better and better with his racing, and he’s a horse who can do a lot wrong at the races and yet still finds a way to win. He’s very good.”

Shaquille has been beaten only once in six starts, at York last August, and he had valid excuses that day as he was tried in a ring bit, which connections say he resented, and the trip was too far for him. He has made rapid strides this year, following a handicap win at Newmarket off 94 with a Listed win at Newbury and the extraordinary Group 1 win at Royal Ascot, which confirmed he is a really exciting prospect.

Oisin Murphy, called up at the last minute that day, is banned, and James Doyle, who rode Shaquille for his two previous wins, is at Ascot, so connections have had to be patient while waiting to see who is available to ride him. 

Ryan Moore was a possibility while the participation of Little Big Bear hung in the balance owing to six days of missed exercise with a bruised foot. However, while Aidan O’Brien reportedly still wants to see more improvement before finally committing his colt, he has been declared at the 48-hour stage and so Shaquille’s connections have booked Rossa Ryan for what is undoubtedly the most enviable of opportunities.

A repeat of Shaquille’s Commonwealth Cup slow start, which could prove costly here, is not anticipated. Brown said: “Ascot was the first time he has started slowly in his life. He was first to load and had been sitting there a long time so got a little bit impatient. When he jumped out slowly he lost ground but the way the race was run at Ascot it worked out. 

“The way I think the race will be run on Saturday, you might want to race quite handily and he doesn’t want to be missing the break. He can lead if he has to and is a real six and a half-furlong horse who really lengthens well.”

Connections of Khaadem, supplemented here at a cost of £36,000 following his shock win at 80-1 in the Queen Elizabeth Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot, and Kinross, who was so impressive last year in the Prix de la Foret and when beating Run To Freedom in the QIPCO British Champions Sprint, have also had to find new jockeys.

Khaadem’s rider Jamie Spencer picked up a ban on Via Sistina in Ireland, while Frankie Dettori, who was hoping to fill a significant gap in his CV on Kinross, was suspended following his ride on Inspiral at Royal Ascot.

Kinross takes aim at another Group 1

Charlie Hills has booked Rob Hornby for Khaadem, who was fourth to Oxted here three years ago, while William Buick takes the ride on Kinross, who has been trained to peak here, hence a late start in last month’s Queen Elizabeth Jubilee Stakes, in which he finished seventh from stall 1, wide on the far side.

Kinross’s trainer Ralph Beckett said: “It’s unfortunate for Frankie, as this has been the aim all along, but William won the Cheveley Park for Marc (Chan, owner) on Lezoo last year and he was keen to get him again once we heard about the ban.”

He added: “It was a good effort at Royal Ascot considering he saw too much daylight. I would have preferred a bit more juice for Kinross over six, but it doesn’t look as if we are going to get it. The uphill finish will play to his strengths though hopefully.”

The field is completed by the 2021 Haydock Sprint winner Emaraaty Ana, who was runner-up at the Breeders’ Cup last year and is having his second race since wind surgery, Art Power, who was fourth to Starman here two years ago and won a Group 2 in Ireland in May, and Vadream, who won the five-furlong Palace House Stakes on her preferred soft ground.