Jasour camp want no more juice in July Cup ground

Clive Cox is hoping for a drier end to the week ahead of Jasour’s My Pension Expert July Cup bid at Newmarket on Saturday.

The grey has come out in good form this term, winning the Group Three Commonwealth Cup Trial at Ascot, also known as the Pavilion Stakes, on his seasonal debut in May.

He then returned to the track to contest the Commonwealth Cup itself at Royal Ascot, where he was a 4-1 chance under Jim Crowley in a field of 14 competing for Group One honours.

Jasour finished third on that occasion, beaten two and a half lengths by Inisherin, who is also due to line up in this weekend’s sprint highlight.

The going at Newmarket was soft, good to soft in places as of Wednesday morning following 29 millimetres of rain in the space of 24 hours, but the forecast is presently dry closer to the race and Cox is keeping his fingers crossed that remains the case.

“I hope it stops raining, hopefully the forecast looks a little bit drier for the weekend,” he said.

“He showed a liking for the track last year in the July Stakes, which bodes well ahead of this race.

“We’ve been very pleased with his progress this year, with his success in the Pavilion before being third in the Commonwealth Cup.

“This looks to be the right race for him, so hopefully things dry up before the weekend.”