Bookmaker Reviews & Sports News

Archive for July 2nd, 2010

Godolphin have been forced to call a halt on the career of Australian import Denman as he will not be fit enough to do himself justice in next week’s Darley July Cup.

The four-year-old, a Group One winner at Rosehill back home, will now take up stud duties Down Under, which was always the plan for the son of Lonhro. Connections had hoped to run him in the highlight of the July meeting at Newmarket but have run out of time.

Godolphin racing manager Simon Crisford said: “We are not going to run him in the July Cup because he is not fit enough.”

He added: “What the plan is, and what the plan has always been, is that there is a quarantine for Australia straight after the July meeting and the intention was that he would always return to the southern hemisphere and we don’t have time to find another race for him.

“Quarantine starts straight after the July meeting and he’s not ready to run so unfortunately we’ve run out of time.”

His impending withdrawal would free up Frankie Dettori for the ride on Fleeting Spirit, if that is the direction in which her trainer Jeremy Noseda decided to go, with Tom Queally, who partnered her to victory 12 months ago, also in the frame.

Another who will miss the race is Brian Meehan’s Arcano. One of last season’s leading juveniles, the colt has only been seen once this season, when well beaten by the Richard Hannon pair of Dick Turpin and Canford Cliffs in the Greenham Stakes at Newbury.

He had still been quoted by bookmakers for the sprint on the July Course but connections admitted it will come too soon.

Angus Gold, owner Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum’s racing manager, said: “Arcano is on his way back. His blood took a long time to get back right after Newbury, it was just a few silly little things that have taken him a bit longer than we hoped.

“We were hoping to get him ready for the July Cup next week but he’s not quite going to make it. I hope he will be back on the track in the next two to three weeks.”