Latest news with #DubaiJulyCupStakes
ITV News
12-07-2025
- Sport
- ITV News
No Half Measures stuns July Cup rivals
Richard Hughes' No Half Measures ran out a shock winner of the Al Basti Equiworld, Dubai July Cup Stakes at Newmarket. At 66-1 she was a real outsider in the Group One contest, and from stall 15 she kept out of trouble under Neil Callan on the far side of the track. As the six-furlong event reached the business end she was picking off rivals and after locking horns with Big Mojo, it was No Half Measures who came out on top by a neck with a further length and three-quarters back to Run To Freedom in third. Hughes steered Oasis Dream to victory in the 2003 July Cup and after taking up training in 2015, No Half Measures is his first Group One winner as a handler. An emotional Hughes said: 'I've just got a bear hug off William Buick and he's cut my lip! 'It's brilliant. Disappointments when you're training are very hard and the highs don't meet the lows. We fancied the filly yesterday Mood Queen and she finished last, which was excruciating, and the highs aren't even high enough. 'It's an up and down game, but I'm coping better with it now than I used to. It's been a tough enough ride to get to here, but I'm definitely appreciating more now than when I started. 'I didn't appreciate all those good horses when I was riding, I just took it for granted and I was very lucky to be riding for Richard Hannon and having the Khalid Abdullah job – I was privileged to be riding good horses every year. 'We get a good horse through the yard now and again and I'm trying to mind it like a baby and I'm watching it every day in case it goes wrong because you probably only have one or two bullets. In Hannon's, if one broke you'd get on another one next day or I'd get another ride. There was a flow of horses and I found it very easy. 'I was a little bit naive when I started training – I thought if I bought 20 horses one of them was going to be good. Then I bought 20 the following year and still no good one. 'This is harder, but more rewarding for sure.' Of gaining his first Group One as a trainer, he added: 'I've got the monkey off my back that's for sure and I can retire now saying I rode a July Cup winner and trained one, so that's really nice. 'Of course I want more, it's my nature as I'm very competitive, but if you don't have the horses you can't train them.' No Half Measures won a handicap at this meeting last year before graduating to Group Three and Listed success, but Hughes admitted he had not expected to hit the mark at the highest level. He said: 'She won here last year in a handicap and when Ryan (Moore) got off her I asked him if we'd get a bit of black type and he said 'she's better than that', which is something Ryan never says! He's a realist, so I was quite surprised by that. 'We plotted to get our black type and we got it and she's done nothing but improve. 'There was very little pressure today really. At halfway I thought she was going OK and then I just held my head because I couldn't believe what was happening! 'I just thought if she's going to get caught she's going to caught, because they normally do, but I would have been pleased even with second or third, so to win is just a bonus.'
RTÉ News
12-07-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
No Half Measures pulls off shock in July Cup at Newmarket
Richard Hughes' No Half Measures ran out a shock winner of the Al Basti Equiworld, Dubai July Cup Stakes at Newmarket. At 66-1 she was a real outsider in the Group One contest, and from stall 15 she kept out of trouble under Neil Callan on the far side of the track. As the six-furlong event reached the business end she was picking off rivals and after locking horns with Big Mojo, it was No Half Measures who came out on top by a neck with a further length and three-quarters back to Run To Freedom in third. Hughes steered Oasis Dream to victory in the 2003 July Cup and after taking up training in 2015, No Half Measures is his first Group One winner as a handler. No Half Measures captures the @ABE_Dubai July Cup for @RHughesracing 🏆 — Newmarket Racecourse (@NewmarketRace) July 12, 2025 An emotional Hughes said: "I've just got a bear hug off William Buick and he's cut my lip! "It's brilliant. Disappointments when you're training are very hard and the highs don't meet the lows. We fancied the filly yesterday Mood Queen and she finished last, which was excruciating, and the highs aren't even high enough. "It's an up and down game, but I'm coping better with it now than I used to. It's been a tough enough ride to get to here, but I'm definitely appreciating more now than when I started. "I didn't appreciate all those good horses when I was riding, I just took it for granted and I was very lucky to be riding for Richard Hannon and having the Khalid Abdullah job – I was privileged to be riding good horses every year. "We get a good horse through the yard now and again and I'm trying to mind it like a baby and I'm watching it every day in case it goes wrong because you probably only have one or two bullets. In Hannon's, if one broke you'd get on another one next day or I'd get another ride. There was a flow of horses and I found it very easy. "I was a little bit naive when I started training – I thought if I bought 20 horses one of them was going to be good. Then I bought 20 the following year and still no good one. "This is harder, but more rewarding for sure." Of gaining his first Group One as a trainer, he added: "I've got the monkey off my back that's for sure and I can retire now saying I rode a July Cup winner and trained one, so that's really nice. "Of course I want more, it's my nature as I'm very competitive, but if you don't have the horses you can't train them." No Half Measures won a handicap at this meeting last year before graduating to Group Three and Listed success, but Hughes admitted he had not expected to hit the mark at the highest level. He said: "She won here last year in a handicap and when Ryan (Moore) got off her I asked him if we'd get a bit of black type and he said 'she's better than that', which is something Ryan never says! He's a realist, so I was quite surprised by that. "We plotted to get our black type and we got it and she's done nothing but improve. "There was very little pressure today really. At halfway I thought she was going OK and then I just held my head because I couldn't believe what was happening! "I just thought if she's going to get caught she's going to caught, because they normally do, but I would have been pleased even with second or third, so to win is just a bonus."
Powys County Times
12-07-2025
- Sport
- Powys County Times
No Half Measures stuns July Cup rivals
Richard Hughes' No Half Measures ran out a shock winner of the Al Basti Equiworld, Dubai July Cup Stakes at Newmarket. At 66-1 she was a real outsider in the Group One contest, and from stall 15 she kept out of trouble under Neil Callan on the far side of the track. As the six-furlong event reached the business end she was picking off rivals and after locking horns with Big Mojo, it was No Half Measures who came out on top by a neck with a further length and three-quarters back to Run To Freedom in third.
Powys County Times
09-07-2025
- Sport
- Powys County Times
Doyle banking on Bermuda to turn up the heat at Newmarket
James Doyle is relishing the prospect of his reunion with Flora Of Bermuda as she seeks a change in fortunes in the Al Basti Equiworld, Dubai July Cup Stakes at Newmarket. The Andrew Balding-trained filly was purchased by Wathnan Racing before Royal Ascot, where she finished third in the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes under PJ McDonald as Doyle rode Lazzat, also owned by Wathnan, to success. Her prior form includes plenty of near-misses, including a second-placed run in the Duke of York Clipper Stakes this season and three smart Group One efforts last term. Doyle, who rode the four-year-old in her career debut as a juvenile and has partnered her just once since, is hopeful she will this time be favoured by fortune as she tries again to score at the highest grade. He said: 'When you look at her profile she's only won a Group Three and then the Alice Keppel before, which is mad,' said Doyle. 'She ran a hell of a race in the Champions Sprint, just behind Kind Of Blue. She wasn't beaten far at all. 'She ran a hell of a race at Haydock as well and she ran well in behind Lazzat in the Prix Maurice de Gheest last year. 'She's run some incredible races in Group Ones, so you'd like to think she can get her head in front in one of them. 'It's been a little bit frustrating for the guys, and I'm sure her previous owners – hopefully she can get that Group One on the board.' Of Flora Of Bermuda's CV, which has seen her win only twice from 15 runs but also only come home out of the money twice, Doyle added: 'She doesn't seem to get the most luck in running, she seems to find a few traffic problems. 'She's due a nice draw in the middle somewhere, that would be lovely for her just to simplify things. 'I think she's a filly who likes to just be ridden with a touch of restraint, just not too far off them.' Doyle, who has yet to land the July Cup, feels Flora Of Bermuda has the credentials to lay claim to a Group One and is naturally hopeful that Saturday's race will prove the ideal opportunity. 'I haven't ridden her for a little while, but I think with the form she's shown and the way she's hit the crossbar in these Group Ones, I'm hoping she can win one,' he added. 'Whether it's the July Cup or other targets further down the line, we'll have to wait and see, but she thoroughly deserves her spot in the line-up.'
