Australian Stars Among Sparkling 66 Entries For Darley July Cup

A sparking entry of 66 has been received for the £360,000 Darley July Cup, the richest sprint race in Europe, and the highlight of the three-day Ritz Club July Festival at Newmarket.

The Darley July Cup, run on Friday, July 14, this year, has proved itself to be one of the most international events in the European racing calender in recent seasons, with Japanese raider Agnes World landing the six-furlong contest in 2000, while Australian superstar Choisir only found Oasis Dream too good in 2003.

This year´s entry includes three Australian hopefuls, headed by the Joe Janiak-trained Takeover Target, already successful in the Group One Lightning Stakes and, appropriately, the Group One Newmarket Handicap in 2006, with both of those victories coming at Flemington. The seven-year-old could be joined by Falkirk, trained by Lee Freedman and Glamour Puss from the stable of Danny O´Brien - a Group One winner at Flemington in October.

Further international interest is provided by Cape Of Good Hope, trained in Hong Kong by David Oughton and successful in the Golden Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot at York in 2005. The well-travelled eight-year-old was beaten less than a length by Takeover Target on his latest start in the Lightening Stakes and finished fourth in the 2004 Darley July Cup. The Japanese look to have another live contender on their hands in the shape of Symboli Gran, a Group Two winner in his native country and a close-up sixth in one of Japan´s best sprints, the Takamatsunomiya Kinen, at Chukyo in March.

Ireland´s champion trainer Aidan O´Brien, successful with Stravinsky in 1999 and Mozart two years later, has 10 to choose from, headed by the brilliant Stan James 2000 Guineas victor George Washington, who has been given the option of a return to sprinting. The O´Brien contingent also includes the well-regarded Art Museum, unbeaten in two outings last season.

The Maktoum family´s Godolphin operation has yet to add the Darley July Cup to its list of Group One winners, but looks to have a strong hand in 2006 with seven entries. These include Iffraaj, winner of Royal Ascot´s Wokingham Stakes in 2005 when trained by Michael Jarvis, Opera Cape, a very useful two-year-old last season but disappointing on his seasonal debut in the Stan James 2000 Guineas and Silca´s Sister, triumphant in the Group One Prix Morny last season and fourth last time out in the Stan James 1000 Guineas. An interesting entry from Godolphin is Astronomia, who previously raced in Australia for Gai Waterhouse and finished fourth in the Group One Crown Oaks at Flemington in November.

Sir Michael Stoute is the most successful current trainer in the Darley July Cup, with three wins courtesy of Marwell (1981), Green Desert (1986) and Ajdal (1987). Freemason Lodge´s two hopes this year are Home Affairs and Tawaassol, who caught the eye with a facile maiden success at Yarmouth last month.

Other leading contenders include Amadeus Wolf, winner of the Group One Middle Park Stakes at Newmarket last season who appeared to not get home in the Stan James 2000 Guineas last time out, La Cucaracha, heroine of the Group One Nunthorpe Stakes at York last season, the lightly-raced Soldier´s Tale, fourth in the 2005 Darley July Cup, multiple Group One scorer Somnus and Soviet Song, who could revert to six furlongs for the first time since her debut win as a two-year-old back in 2002.

Etlaala, third in 2005, has won both his starts this year, while both Ashdown Express and Balmont have run well twice in the Darley July Cup. Ashdown Express, trained by Chris Wall, was sixth last year and second in 2004, with the Jeremy Noseda-trained Balmont fifth in 2005 and third the previous year.

Michael Prosser, Clerk of the Course at Newmarket, commented: 'Newmarket is proud to be staging Europe richest sprint, the £360,000 Darley July Cup, and we are over the moon to have received such high quality entries for our summer racing highlight.

'We look forward to welcoming runners from around the world to Newmarket on Friday, July 14. With Agnes World winning for Japan in 2000, Choisir going very close for Australia in 2003 and Cape Of Good Hope coming fourth in 2003, the Darley July Cup has always been at the forefront of international competition and we look forward to that trend developing even further this year.'

The £360,000 Darley July Cup is Europe´s richest sprint and the highlight of the three-day Ritz Club July Festival, which is also supported by Jaeger and runs from Wednesday, July 12 through to Friday, July 14.