JULIE’S SIGNIFICANT OTHER STRIKES GOLD
SIGNIFICANTLY gave Julie Camacho another big-race prize with a dramatic success in the Virgin Bet Ayr Gold Cup.
Camacho and her husband and assistant Steve Brown have had a season to remember thanks to the exploits of Commonwealth Cup and July Cup winner Shaquille.
The dual Group 1 victor failed in his bid for a top-level hat-trick when coming home last of 16 in the Sprint Cup at Haydock 22 days ago. But 8-1 joint-favourite Significantly, a short-head second in the Portland Handicap on Doncaster’s St Leger undercard last Saturday, took up the baton for the North Yorkshire stable when overcoming traffic problems under Joe Fanning to overhaul Ramazan and score by a neck.
Gweedore took third half a length away, with Albasheer a nose back in fourth.
“It was very nerve-wracking, especially after just getting beat last Saturday,” said Camacho.
“We’ve had three seconds this week and I thought, ‘Oh, please, not another one!’.”
Fanning, winning the sixfurlong handicap for the first time, admitted: “I would have been an unlucky loser – everywhere I went I just got shut off. But he has a lot of ability. I was in front on him last week the stride after the line but not at the line, so it was good to get this one.”
At Newbury, Array earned a 20-1 quote for next year’s 2,000 Guineas with a victory in the Dubai Duty Free Mill Reef Stakes.
Juddmonte-owned son of No Nay Never and Oisin Murphy got the better of Mister Sketch by half a length for trainer Andrew Balding, whose father Ian trained the 1971 Derby, Eclipse, King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes and Prix de l’arc de Triomphe hero honoured by the Group 2 test.
“Obviously, this race is important to our family,” said Balding. “We try to find one for it but dad trained our last winner, Firebreak, while I’ve had two seconds and a third before this.
“I can’t see why this won’t be a horse with a big future and Oisin thinks it would be worth trying him over further.
“It’s not impossible he will get a mile.”
■ WILLIAM JARVIS, who has trained more than 700 winners in a career spanning nearly 40 years, is to hand in his licence at the end of the season, the 62-year-old revealed yesterday.
I would have been an unlucky loser. I kept being shut off