Eqtidaar Aims for July Cup

[Wandering Eyes]

Shadwell’s Eqtidaar (Ire) (Invincible Spirit {Ire}), who landed the G1 Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot over Sands of Mali (Fr) (Panis), will contest the July 14 £500,000 G1 Darley July Cup at Newmarket all being well. Held over six furlongs, the July Cup pits 3-year-olds against their elders for the first time. G1 King’s Stand S. hero Blue Point (Ire) (Shamardal) is also targeting the race, as are the last two winners, Harry Angel (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) and Limato (Ire) (Tagula {Ire}).

“I spoke to Sir Michael Stoute on Monday and he says Eqtidaar has come out of the Commonwealth Cup in good shape and he would be keen to run him in the Darley July Cup,” Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum’s racing manager Angus Gold told the Newmarket notes team. “I can’t say how he will handle the July Course, though I don’t foresee that he should be particularly hindered by the contours. [How he will handle the probable fast] ground is an interesting question–obviously we are still learning about this horse and he did handle soft ground well at Ascot earlier in the summer, but equally he won on faster ground at the Royal meeting so it is a bit of an unknown, we will just have to take what we are given.”

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