KILLER INSTINCT
For so long denied the day in the sun he seemed destined for, Paul Jacobs's Limato (Ire) (Tagula {Ire}) had all in his favour at Newmarket on Saturday and duly turned a strong edition of the G1 Darley July Cup into his own private procession. Switching back to sprinting after a latest fourth in the G1 Lockinge S. at Newbury May 14, the bay was always handy under Harry Bentley and after being sent forward to the lead with 1 1/2 furlongs remaining quickly put the race beyond doubt. With so much in hand, the 9-2 favourite was even able to veer right across the track and still win with total authority by two lengths from Suedois (Fr) (Le Havre {Ire}). “I got a great position and he took me there almost too well, so I had to commit as I knew he gets further than six,” his jockey said. “He went right because he was on his own and knows where he came out of the paddock, but to do that and still win shows his class.”
Saturday, Ascot, Britain
DARLEY JULY CUP-G1, £533,750, NEW, 7-9, 3yo/up, 6fT, 1:09.97, g/f.
1–&LIMATO (IRE), 132, g, 4, by Tagula (Ire)
1st Dam: Come April (GB), by Singspiel (Ire)
2nd Dam: So Admirable (GB), by Suave Dancer
3rd Dam: Sumoto (GB), by Mtoto (GB)
(£41,000 Ylg '13 DNPRM). O-Paul G Jacobs; B-Seamus Phelan (IRE); T-Henry Candy; J-Harry Bentley. £302,690. Lifetime Record: Hwt. 3yo-Eng at 7-9.5f & G1SP-Fr, 11-7-3-0, $1,047,750. Werk Nick Rating: A++. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
2–Suedois (Fr), 132, g, 5, Le Havre (Ire)–Cup Cake (Ire), by Singspiel (Ire). (€165,000 4yo '15 ARARC). O-George Turner; B-Mme Elisabeth Vidal (FR); T-David O'Meara. £114,756.
3–Quiet Reflection (GB), 123, f, 3, Showcasing (GB)–My Delirium (GB), by Haafhd (GB). (£32,000 Ylg '14 DNSIL; £44,000 2yo '15 DONBRE). O-Ontoawinner, Strecker & Burke; B-Springcombe Park Stud (GB); T-Karl Burke. £57,432.
Margins: 2, HD, 1 1/4. Odds: 4.50, 25.00, 7.00.
Also Ran: Profitable (Ire), Washington Dc (Ire), Eastern Impact (Ire), Magical Memory (Ire), Sole Power (GB), Danzeno (GB), Goken (Fr), Mongolian Saturday, Air Force Blue, Cotai Glory (GB), Twilight Son (GB), Jungle Cat (Ire), Don't Touch (GB), Waady (Ire), Arod (Ire). Click for the Racing Post result or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree. Video, sponsored by Fasig-Tipton.
Henry Candy has been where many of his younger colleagues still haven't in racing, so it was a quirk that he had yet to win this illustrious prize especially as the trainer of the likes of Time Charter has in recent times been unfairly pigeon-holed as a specialist trainer of sprinters. What is more remarkable is his continuing ability to spot potential stardom in cheap purchases and he quickly saw in Limato the raw essence of what is required to make an impact at a high level. Four-from-four at two with his black-type wins coming in the Listed Rose Bowl S. at Newbury and Redcar's Listed Two-Year-Old Trophy, he was kept at six furlongs for his comeback in Ascot's G3 Pavilion S. which he duly won last April before being upset by Adaay (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) when a lethargic second in the G2 Sandy Lane S. at Haydock the following month. His whole personality had become more laid-back in general at that point and his performance when again second in the G1 Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot in June suggested he was ready for a step up in trip.
Denied a run until Doncaster's St Leger meeting in September due to the vagaries of the British summer, Limato sprang back to prominence with one of the season's most impressive displays in the seven-furlong G2 Park S. before filling the runner's-up spot from a desperate early position in Longchamp's G1 Prix de la Foret which is so often influenced by the draw on Arc day. Seeing out the mile of the Lockinge perfectly well on his return without offering conclusive clues as to his stamina for that trip, he was allowed to come into this speed test under the same patient training plan but in the event showed the same early speed that had so characterised his juvenile efforts. Provided with an ideal lead from the forwardly-ridden Mongolian Saturday (Any Given Saturday) and Don't Touch (GB) (Dutch Art {GB}), Limato was inched forward to take control of affairs passing the two-furlong pole and when the whip was applied began to make his way towards the exit gate. Straightened to maintain his superiority by Harry Bentley, he was denied the wide-margin win he could have enjoyed had he not taken an errant passage but still clocked under standard time in a show of ruthless class not seen in this race since Stravinsky's tour de force back in 1999.
Candy, who also saddled the eventual 14th Twilight Son (GB) (Kyllachy {GB}), is still thinking of going back up in trip. “He's exciting to watch and gives his jockeys the most fantastic feel,” he said. “It would be rather fun to win the [G1] Sussex [S. at Goodwood July 27] and I wouldn't rule it out. I thought he settled very well in the Lockinge and he ran a cracking race and got the mile there, so we'll see. My horses weren't right at the time and nor was the ground, so I thought he got the mile that day. It didn't look like it today, but I've been training him pretty much to settle and stay so I think he'd probably do it okay.” Of the G1 Haydock Sprint Cup and G1 Diamond Jubilee S. winner Twilight Son, he added, “[Jockey] Martin Harley said he was never comfortable. It was a bad decision by me, but I thought the ground would be just okay.” The G1 Commonwealth Cup winner Quiet Reflection (GB) (Showcasing {GB}) was best of the 3-year-olds with a typically game effort in third, a head behind the still-improving Suedois.
Surprisingly, Limato's pedigree lacks the speed influence of the average July Cup winner, with the deadly pace he possesses possibly injected via his high-achieving sire. His second dam So Admirable is a sister to the G1 Eclipse S.-winning sire Compton Admiral (GB) and a half to the G1 Queen Elizabeth II S. scorer Summoner (GB) (Inchinor {GB}) and G2 Ribblesdale S. winner Twyla Tharp (Ire) (Sadler's Wells). The latter went on to produce the brilliant The Fugue (GB) (Dansili {GB}), the multiple highweight and heroine of the G1 Irish Champion S., G1 Prince of Wales's S., G1 Yorkshire Oaks and G1 Nassau S. This is also the family of the G3 Craven S. winner Adagio (GB) (Grand Lodge) and Arvada (GB) (Hernando {Fr}), who captured the GII La Prevoyante H. and GIII Glens Falls H. and was third in the G1 Prix Saint-Alary. Come April, who won over 10 furlongs herself and was tried at a mile and a half, has a 2-year-old filly by Arcano (Ire) named Limoncino (Ire) and a colt foal by that sire.
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