Frankie Dettori to ride Fleeting Spirit in July Cup
Early-season optimism that Frankie Dettori might be able to mount a serious challenge for a fourth jockeys’ championship may have dissipated as the day-night treadmill of the mid-season kicks in.
However, this week’s July meeting at Newmarket deals far more in quality than quantity and is a stage on which the Italian appears to feel instantly at home.
Perhaps it is because it is a home fixture, but Dettori has an impressive 27% strike-rate on the July course and he has an equally impressive 29% return on his rides for trainer Jeremy Noseda. That statistic doubtless played no small part in the decision of the trainer to book Dettori to ride Fleeting Spirit in the Group One Darley July Cup at Newmarket on Friday.
Noseda had an enviable choice of riders available to partner his star mare. Aside from Dettori there was Tom Queally – fresh from his success on Twice Over in the Eclipse Stakes at Sandown Park on Saturday – who rode Fleeting Spirit when she won the July Cup 12 months ago and champion jockey Ryan Moore was also said to be keen to take the ride.
However, once Godolphin had ruled out Denman from running in the race last week, Dettori moved to the top of the list. Fleeting Spirit ran a promising race first time out when she was two-and-a-half lengths fourth to Starspangledbanner in the Golden Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot last month.
By the final day of that meeting it appeared that those drawn high - Fleeting Spirit raced from stall 21 - were at a disadvantage and Noseda is hopeful that she can be competitive as she defends her title. “Fleeting Spirit will line up in the July Cup and Frankie Dettori will ride,” he said on his website. “She did her last piece of work this morning. I was pleased with how it went and fingers crossed she comes out of it in good order.
“Hopefully she moves forward from her first racecourse start and I hope there is no draw bias and we are drawn near the principal competition.”
Trying to get Sans Frontieres competitive has proven a more difficult task for the trainer. As a three-year-old he was second in the Craven Stakes and third in the Dante Stakes but then did not run again until this year’s Craven meeting and has failed to make the first three in his three starts thus far this year.
However, Sans Frontieres ran his best race of the season when fourth behind Harbinger in the Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot and runs the Group Two Princess of Wales’s Stakes at Newmarket on Thursday. “Tom Queally will ride and we shall be fitting him with sheepskin cheek pieces for the first time,” Noseda said. “I was quite happy with his last run at Royal Ascot and there were signs of a return to form. We have fitted the cheek pieces to try and sharpen up in the early stages of the race.”
Formosina is still at the early stages of his career but was sharp enough to win the Group Two Railway Stakes at the Curragh on Irish Derby day and is now scheduled to run in the Group Two Superlative Stakes on Friday, where he must overcome the burden of a 3lb penalty for that win. “He pleased me in his breeze this morning and we feel that as he has taken his last race so well that we should take our chance in the Superlative," Noseda said. “Ryan Moore will ride and hopefully the move up to seven furlongs will suit, as will the quick ground.”
Another Noseda runner on Friday is Captain Brilliance in the Bunbury Cup, a race in which he was beaten just a neck by Plum Pudding 12 months ago. “He ran well in the race last year and was probably a little unlucky as he couldn’t get a run when he needed it and was only beaten a neck.
“He’s a good tough horse who always runs his best races at his home track.”
A record of two wins and two seconds from four starts on the July course gives Noseda every reason to be optimistic.
Tags: