Billy Loughnane steers Comanche Brave to July Cup glory Billy Loughnane’s exceptional season continued at Newmarket on Saturday as he steered Irish raider Comanche Brave to a brilliant sprinting success in the Al Basti Equiworld, Dubai July Cup Stakes. It was the 2000 Guineas-winning jockey who jumped at the chance to partner Donnacha O’Brien’s four-year-old – who had taken on the challenge of Ka Ying Rising in Hong Kong earlier in the year and had dazzled on home soil at the Curragh before not being disgraced at Royal Ascot. Japanese raider Satono Reve attempted to keep it simple on the front end carrying dreams of replicating Agnes World’s victory in this race 26 years ago, with Aidan O’Brien’s Mission Central also among those up on the pace early on. But the eye was always drawn to 11-1 chance Comanche Brave as he breezed effortlessly into contention and slipped an extra gear when meeting the rising ground to see off the running-on Venetian Sun by a length. Satono Reve was a further neck back in third. Impressive Form Maintained O’Brien said: “He was very impressive today I thought – he looked like he did the day he won at the Curragh. “There’s not much between these sprinters and he’d won a Group Two, so where else to go but keep trying to win Group Ones? We’ve seen a few times horses that have been beaten in the Jubilee at Royal Ascot and have come and won this race, so we weren’t afraid to try it and it worked. “There wasn’t a lot of pace on paper, which is a funny thing to say in a six-furlong race. I said to Billy to just let him jump and if someone is going along in front great and if not go along yourself. He got a lovely slot in behind Satono Reve and he took him as long as he wanted to go. “I thought he was super impressive today, he travelled beautifully and Billy gave him a lovely ride. He never looked anything but the winner really. He never looked in trouble, it was an easy watch.” It is likely to be Group Ones all the way for Comanche Brave for the remainder of the season, with plenty of options open to him. International Ambitions and Future Targets “He ran very well in Hong Kong earlier in the year behind Ka Ying Rising and that was his first go back at six furlongs on a right-handed track, he’d only been right-handed once before and he’d travelled halfway across the world and wasn’t disgraced by any means,” O’Brien added. “It would be great to see a horse like Ka Ying Rising travel and come and take us on here. It’s not easy to do, but we travelled there and everyone should travel their horses as well. “I don’t know where we’ll go next. He’s in all the sprints and I think it’s likely we’ll want to go travelling as well at some stage. “He’s in the Haydock Sprint Cup, there’s lots of options. Billy said you could even come back to five furlongs with him.” Capitalising on a Spare Ride Loughnane said: “Tony Hind my agent does a fantastic job, he said we might have Comanche Brave for the July Cup and I said ‘you’re joking’, but thankfully it was confirmed and the rest is history. “It was a fantastic spare ride to pick up and he’s a horse who is really just learning how to sprint as he’s obviously been tried over further. “The race today couldn’t have gone any better. I got on the back of the Japanese horse who was a perfect target and my one instruction was just to nurse him as long as I could. I managed to wait until the furlong pole and he picked up well from there. “He travelled so sweetly, fast ground was perfect and I do think he could drop back in trip – I was taking back the whole way through and he’s got a lot of gears this horse. Hopefully the sky’s the limit. “I get a lot of kick out of riding in these big races. I’m 20 years old and I’m fortunate enough to pick up rides in them and just learning from that is everything. “To be fortunate enough to win some Group Ones is what I wanted. I didn’t know Bow Echo was going to flourish into what he has, but to ride three Group One winners in England this year is brilliant and we’re only halfway through the season – hopefully we’re just getting going!”
