July Cup preview
July 9th 2009 08:57
Although the Group One July Cup field did not fall away as anticipated earlier this week - nonetheless Scenic Blast still dominates the betting, ranging in odds from 11/8 to best value at 7/4 with the English bookmakers.
If Paco Boy or Fleeting Spirit had not accepted - as was expected earlier in the week - then Scenic Blast would have started an odds-on favourite.
(photo: Chris Boucher)
In Australia Sportingbet currently has fixed odds as:
Scenic Blast $2.30
Paco Boy $5.50
Takeover Target $9.00
Fleeting Spirit $9.00
Art Connoisseur $$9.00
JJ The Jet Plane $10.00
Main Aim $15.00
African Rose $18.00
$26.00 - $101.00 the others.
With Fleeting Spirit and Paco Boy now running the race does possess far greater depth.
Danny Morton is extremely confident that Scenic Blast will prevail again when getting out to a distance that has usually been considered an ideal trip for Scenic Blast. The undulating track and tough uphill run will suit a horse who has been placed at Group One level at 1600m. And the tough test of the track also the reason why the 1400m specialist Paco Boy is considered to be the main danger. The prospect of a track with cushion also expected to aid his chances.
Takeover Target appears to have flown under the radar this year in England. Apart from one poor performance in the KrisFlyer International Sprint in Kranji the 10 year old champion sprinter has been in career best speedform. He campaigned in brilliant fashion in Perth over the West Australian Winter Carnival before putting in a career best speed performance when thrashing Northern Meteor, Apache Cat, and Nicconi, in the Group One TJ Smith Stakes (1200m) at Randwick in May on a dead rated track. Subsequently he would defeat the flying I Am Invincible in the Group One Goodwood Handicap (1200m) at Morphettville in South Australia. This time on a slow rated track. If we can forgive one bad run his form has been near faultless.
And there does appear to have been an excuse for the Kranji failure.
"We had different shoes on and he may not have got the grip that he wanted, but the time he ran was exactly the same as a year before when he won the race, so you can't argue with that.” - Joe Janiak as reported at racingandsports.com.au
And Janiak is hoping for a preferred wet track for his resilient champion.
Strong performances can also be expected from Fleeting Spirit and JJ The Jet Plane who both performed well in the King’s Stand Stakes.
A race with more depth than the betting would indicate - but such now is the respect and reputation of Scenic Blast that he is a short-priced favourite to remain undefeated in England.
And as long as the track does not become slippery I would have to agree. I did selecte Scenic Blast to win the feature Australian 1200m sprint, the Group One Newmarket Handicap in March this year. His last start before leaving for England. He had the best speedfigures that day and won at odds of $12.50.
1 Scenic Blast
2 Takeover Target
3 Paco Boy
4 Fleeting Spirit
If Paco Boy or Fleeting Spirit had not accepted - as was expected earlier in the week - then Scenic Blast would have started an odds-on favourite.
Takeover Target (shadow roll) and Scenic Blast working together in preparation for the July Cup
(photo: Chris Boucher)
In Australia Sportingbet currently has fixed odds as:
Scenic Blast $2.30
Paco Boy $5.50
Takeover Target $9.00
Fleeting Spirit $9.00
Art Connoisseur $$9.00
JJ The Jet Plane $10.00
Main Aim $15.00
African Rose $18.00
$26.00 - $101.00 the others.
With Fleeting Spirit and Paco Boy now running the race does possess far greater depth.
Danny Morton is extremely confident that Scenic Blast will prevail again when getting out to a distance that has usually been considered an ideal trip for Scenic Blast. The undulating track and tough uphill run will suit a horse who has been placed at Group One level at 1600m. And the tough test of the track also the reason why the 1400m specialist Paco Boy is considered to be the main danger. The prospect of a track with cushion also expected to aid his chances.
Takeover Target appears to have flown under the radar this year in England. Apart from one poor performance in the KrisFlyer International Sprint in Kranji the 10 year old champion sprinter has been in career best speedform. He campaigned in brilliant fashion in Perth over the West Australian Winter Carnival before putting in a career best speed performance when thrashing Northern Meteor, Apache Cat, and Nicconi, in the Group One TJ Smith Stakes (1200m) at Randwick in May on a dead rated track. Subsequently he would defeat the flying I Am Invincible in the Group One Goodwood Handicap (1200m) at Morphettville in South Australia. This time on a slow rated track. If we can forgive one bad run his form has been near faultless.
And there does appear to have been an excuse for the Kranji failure.
"We had different shoes on and he may not have got the grip that he wanted, but the time he ran was exactly the same as a year before when he won the race, so you can't argue with that.” - Joe Janiak as reported at racingandsports.com.au
And Janiak is hoping for a preferred wet track for his resilient champion.
Strong performances can also be expected from Fleeting Spirit and JJ The Jet Plane who both performed well in the King’s Stand Stakes.
A race with more depth than the betting would indicate - but such now is the respect and reputation of Scenic Blast that he is a short-priced favourite to remain undefeated in England.
And as long as the track does not become slippery I would have to agree. I did selecte Scenic Blast to win the feature Australian 1200m sprint, the Group One Newmarket Handicap in March this year. His last start before leaving for England. He had the best speedfigures that day and won at odds of $12.50.
1 Scenic Blast
2 Takeover Target
3 Paco Boy
4 Fleeting Spirit
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