Inisherin will face 11 rivals as he tackles older horses for the first time in Saturday’s My Pension Expert July Cup at Newmarket.
Kevin Ryan’s speedster ran with credit in the 2000 Guineas earlier in the season but has proved a revelation since reverting to sprinting.
He inflicted a first career defeat on Vandeek in the Sandy Lane at Haydock before putting up an imperious display in the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot and he is now aiming to follow in the footsteps of last year’s winner Shaquille, who won the same Ascot race before July Cup glory.
Jockey Tom Eaves won a Prix de l’Abbaye and a Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint on Glass Slippers and a Prix Maurice de Gheest on Brando, on whom he was also placed in two July Cups out of five. Both also were also trained by Ryan, while he won another Abbaye on Bryan Smart’s Tangerine Trees.
Eaves said: “Inisherin is a very good horse. He’s the best I’ve sat on, so I’m looking forward to Saturday. He’s got a very good mind and a lot of pure ability. I was placed twice on Brando at biggish prices so you’d hope that Inisherin would have an even better chance as favourite, but it’s a very strong Group 1.”
Ryan has confirmed this week that all has gone smoothly in Inisherin’s preparation and, worryingly for the opposition, that “he seems to be getting quicker”.
Eaves, whose partner Amy is Ryan’s daughter, said: “Kevin is a very good trainer of all types of horses, not only sprinters. Look what he did with The Grey Gatsby for example. He treats them all individually and he leaves no stone unturned, but it’s fair to say his record with sprinters is exceptional.”
Vandeek will take him on again with connections expecting a bold show, despite being forced to miss Ascot with a minor setback.
Trainer Simon Crisford said: “It was unfortunate that Haydock had 30mm of rain on top of watered ground, and Vandeek was lacking a bit of match practice compared to the competition. We were disappointed he didn’t win, but there was a pretty good reason for it and he still ran an okay race.
“It was massively disappointing that we couldn’t run him at Royal Ascot, because the horse needs racing. It slightly put us on the back foot, but he quickly returned to peak health. He’s looking good and training nicely, so we are all set for Saturday, but obviously we are one race short of where we’d have liked to have been, which isn’t ideal coming into these championship races.”
He added: “Inisherin was mightily impressive at Royal Ascot and the three-year-olds look pretty strong. The older horses also bring plenty to what I’d say is a very good July Cup, so Vandeek is going to have to show us the same sort of level as he was showing last year. But James (Doyle) has sat on him a couple of times recently and he’s displaying all of the right signals.”
River Tiber, last year’s Coventry Stakes winner, was third in the Irish Guineas before finishing down the field in the Jersey Stakes at Ascot but Aidan O’Brien now returns him to a sprint trip.
Clive Cox’s Jasour, a winner at this meeting last year in the July Stakes and third in the Commonwealth Cup, is the fourth and final three-year-old lining up.
The older brigade is led by Ed Bethell’s Regional, winner of Haydock’s Sprint Cup last season and beaten no more than a length in both his outings to date this year.
Bethell said: “Regional has been absolutely brilliant for us. Having a horse like him for the big days is what we all do it for. He’s a legend to have around.
“He ran a blinder at Ascot, and coming back to six furlongs at Newmarket will suit him down to the ground. I just hope it dries out. He hasn’t run on ground that’s been officially soft since we bought him at the end of his two-year-old season, but we ran him once at Epsom when I think it was softer than they said it was and he got a bit of wheelspin. We’d be delighted if it was good ground by Saturday.”
Kinross will have his supporters after a fine comeback at Newcastle, while Charlie Hills runs two in dual Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes winner Khaadem and Mitbaahy.
Swingalong, beaten half a length by Khaadem at Ascot, will aim to go one better for Karl Burke.
Jane Chapple-Hyam’s Mill Stream, Tim Easterby’s durable Art Power and the Charlie Fellowes-trained Vadream complete the list.
More from Sporting Life
Safer gambling
We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.
