HARRY’S GAME July Cup joy for Angel
STARTS WITH THE BEST RACING
HARRY ANGEL gained sweet revenge on his big rival Caravaggio with a brilliant victory in the July Cup.
Given a peach of a ride by Adam Kirby, the three-year-old dominated the Group One contest in one of the races of the Flat season so far. Kirby had insisted Harry Angel should have beaten Caravaggio at Royal Ascot in the Commonwealth Cup. But the pair made no mistake yesterday as they fended off a top-class field to exact revenge. They also inflicted the first-ever defeat on Caravaggio. Like he did at Ascot, 9-2 shot Harry Angel was quickly away while Caravaggio was sluggish leaving the stalls. Kirby refused to get into an early battle with Intelligence Cross and rode the winner with restraint. Harry Angel hit the front inside the final two furlongs and Limato and Caravaggio never looked like bridging the gap. Clive Cox’s stable star scored by a length and a quarter.
Caravaggio was narrowly beaten into third place by outsider Brando.
Kirby said: “I came back saying I should have won last time and it was in the bottom of my heart that today he’d show them the way it was.
“To be fair to the horse, the race at Ascot really brought him forward and he’s gone from a boy to a man.
“He quickened and showed how good he is. I can’t express how good he is.”
Cox added: “He’s always been a special horse.
“It’s just taken kid gloves to get him going but we always hoped he’d be Group One material.
“Coming here today I was very confident in his whole demeanour.
“I’m so thrilled for the whole team at home and for owner Sheikh Mohammed on his birthday.”