Lady of the Desert to miss Darley July Cup- 2011 season still to get off the mark
Jaber Abdullah’s Lady of the Desert was scratched out of the Darley July Cup 2011 after a decision was made over the horse's inability to overcome an injury. The same injury saw her sit out the Royal Ascot.
The 8 to 1 third favorite for the Darley July Cup was targeting the cup after the filly missed the Golden Jubilee as well.
The 4-year-old filly bagged the Diadem Stakes at Ascot and came second in the Prix de l’Abbaye, both win and the second place finish came last year in 2010.
The leading candidate for sprint honours hasn’t had a start this year because of injuries.
These injuries are taking time to heel and proving to be long term, making the four-year-old chestnut filly missing important races.
Missing the Royal Ascot was a big blow when Lady of the Desert came down with a splint and was ruled out of the competition, but the aim was to skip the Ascot, rest and give as much time possible to get heal the injuries and run in the Darley July Cup.
Focus now turns to Nunthorpe Stakes which the filly has already entered and the target has shifted to Betfred Sprint Cup at Haydock while using the Nunthorpe Stakes as a platform to build for the Sprint Cup.
The reason is obvious, to see how the filly operates after a long layoff and if there are any niggel’s or not before the big race.
Apart from Lady of the Desert, Hooray and Maqaasid are also to miss the six furlong sprint. Both of them were 16 to 1 before the July Cup.
Rocket Man is also to join the list of scratched horses for the Darley July Cup, confirmed by his connections.
The Rahy filly has already missed two major grade one races.
A similar story unfolded when Lady of the Desert looked to get her 2011 season underway, starting from Group Two Duke of York Blue Square on 11 May, a race which she has run before and won as a juvenile.
The filly has had massive runs in the short distance races and looks spectacular with her sprints. It is sad that she had to miss the Ascot and now the Darley July Cup, but resting the filly could increase the possibility of future outing of the same races
that she had miss.
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