Latest news with #NeilCallan
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Mail
66-1 July Cup shock puts Neil Callan back at the top table and leaves trainer Richard Hughes in tears
One man was speechless, another was in tears and, in the middle of it all, was an unlikely leading lady who had reinforced racing's glorious unpredictability. We are used to super powers such as Godolphin and Coolmore dominating midsummer Group One events but, every so often, you get a result like the one No Half Measures provided in the July Cup. Sent off at 66-1, there weren't many cheers as she crossed the line to become the biggest priced winner of a race first run in 1876, but this was a superb story. For Neil Callan, the jockey who was wide-eyed in astonishment, it was an unexpected return to the top table. The 47-year-old had only partnered four winners since May 24 and his four rides at Royal Ascot last month were on horses priced 125-1, 100-1, 80-1 and 50-1 — two finished stone last. As for Richard Hughes, it was an overdue first Group One triumph as a trainer. He was once a brilliant jockey but, more than anything, he is a brilliant horseman and getting this mare, who cost £32,000, to win £372,584, emphasised his skills. No Half Measures has been consistent for owner Richard Gallagher, but had never given an indication she would blossom in such style. In these sprints, however, there is no such thing as a hopeless task and this time the cards fell perfectly for the four-year-old. 'Neil is tough as hell and very professional,' said Hughes. 'I think the last ride I gave him was when he won the Northumberland Plate for me (in 2023)! 'I was playing golf with Mick Fitzgerald, and said to him, 'Who am I going to get?' and he said, 'What about Callan?'. I said, 'Perfect!'' It was better than perfect. Callan (below) has had his skirmishes with authorities down the years but he knows how to ride and he timed everything to perfection, holding off the challenge of Big Mojo (22-1) and Run To Freedom (40-1). Notable Speech, the 2-1 favourite, never looked like playing a hand in the finish. 'The last couple of years, I thought I was a bit buried,' said Callan. 'I had a couple of big Group One winners at Royal Ascot in 2023 but last year and this has been a struggle. You are just waiting for that one good horse. 'Hughesy messaged me a few days ago and I actually thought he had messaged the wrong person! 'He said to me, 'Do you want to ride in a Group One?' and I just said to him, 'Absolutely! I'd love to'. Richard told me she would be 50-1 or 66-1 but that she was genuine and she would run her race. 'I felt she was running her race all the way and then I hit the front. Wow! It all felt surreal. You just can't beat Group Ones. They are just top, top!' You could see what it meant to Hughes, too. 'It's a hard game,' he said, as he began to well up. 'I wasn't Champion Jockey overnight and these things take time. There were a lot of dark days when I started and it was only thanks to my wife Lizzie's support that we kept going. This is just brilliant.'
Khaleej Times
2 days ago
- Sport
- Khaleej Times
Hughes relives July Cup glory, Godolphin finds mixed fortunes at Newmarket
Twenty-two years after his unforgettable ride aboard Oasis Dream, Richard Hughes once again etched his name into the history of the Group 1 Al Basti Equiworld, Dubai July Cup, but this time from the trainers' enclosure, not the saddle. In a stunning twist to the final day of Newmarket's prestigious July Festival, Hughes saddled No Half Measures, a rank outsider, to victory in the prestigious six-furlong sprint, a race steeped in tradition and long considered the ultimate test of speed in British racing. Under a tactically astute ride from Irish ace Neil Callan, the 66/1 shot stormed down the famed July Course to claim the spoils, triggering emotional scenes and memories of 2003 when Hughes partnered Oasis Dream to victory for the late Prince Khalid Abdullah and John Gosden. 'This means the world,' Hughes said post-race. 'Riding a July Cup winner was special, training one feels even more rewarding.' For Godolphin, the Dubai-owned global racing powerhouse, the day brought a blend of disappointment and promise. Notable Speech, the stable's high-profile runner and winner of the 2,000 Guineas Stakes at Newmarket, failed to make an impact in the feature, finishing sixth despite high expectations. However, the blue silks did not leave Newmarket empty-handed on Saturday. Godolphin's Next Star Emerges In the Group 2 Superlative Stakes, juvenile Saba Desert delivered a gritty and mature performance to claim victory in a race that has launched the careers of multiple Godolphin champions like Dubawi ( 2004), Master of The Seas (2020) and Native Trail (2021). Despite an awkward start, where he reared as the stalls opened, the colt recovered smartly under William Buick, taking the seven-furlong contest with authority in the closing stages. It marked the eighth win in the race for Godolphin. Trainer Charlie Appleby praised both Saba Desert and stablemate Wild Desert, who ran third despite a troubled passage: 'Saba Desert did everything we hoped for and more. It wasn't a straightforward race, but he showed heart and class - signs of a serious horse in the making,' said Appleby. Buick echoed the sentiment, calling it 'a scrappy race but a real test,' and adding that the colt had "plenty of improvement" still to come. With a possible tilt at the G1 National Stakes or even the Dewhurst on the horizon, Saba Desert could yet be Godolphin's next headline act. While Richard Hughes basked in a career-defining win in one of Europe's most prestigious sprints, Godolphin will leave Newmarket with reasons to reflect and to look ahead with cautious optimism, having once again left their mark on one of the sport's most reputed stages.
The Sun
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Sun
Massive shock as 66-1 shot No Half Measures wins July Cup for emotional trainer Richard Hughes
TEARFUL Richard Hughes pulled off the biggest shock of the season as 66-1 shot No Half Measures bagged the July Cup. In a huge upset, the flying filly came from way off the pace to beat Big Mojo by a neck under veteran jockey Neil Callan. 2 2 It was 'Hughesie's' first Group 1 winner since he retired from the saddle and took out his trainers' licence in 2015. And he went through a rollercoaster of emotions in the minutes after the race – first delight, then shock, and then tears began to flow. Hughes said: 'It's a very hard game, but this is just fabulous. There were a lot of dark days when I started out. This feels surreal.' He isn't the only one who felt that way, and even Nostradamus would have struggled to predict this result. She has always been a useful filly, but all of her best form has come on soft ground and she looked likely to be outclassed at the top-level on a rattling quick track. The sprint division has been wide-open for a few years, which is why Charlie Appleby decided to have a crack over six furlongs with his top miler Notable Speech. He was comfortable early in the race going at a much faster tempo than he's used to, and he looked like laying down a serious challenge a furlong out. But he hung under pressure and backed out of it as Big Mojo moved into the lead – and then No Half Measures swept through and did them all. Hughes said: 'I think if I'd started out with a real good horse early in my training career, I wouldn't appreciate it as much as I appreciate this right now. 'I probably didn't appreciate all those good horses I rode when I was a jockey, I took it for granted, so because it's been a tough road to get here it's extra special. 'I was a little be naive at the start, I thought if I bought 20 horses one of them would be good. We've chipped away and we've got there in the end. 'There was no pressure today, I thought she was going to get caught and I couldn't believe it when the line came. I've got the monkey off my back now, we'll enjoy this one.' It was a huge result, too, for Callan. The 46-year-old has been on the fringes for a few years now and his career was threatening to drift along to a tame conclusion. He said: 'The last couple of years I thought I was buried, last year and this year have been a bit of a struggle. 'Hughsie messaged me a few days ago asking if I wanted to take the ride and I thought he'd messaged the wrong person! This is magic.' . Remember to gamble responsibly A responsible gambler is someone who:
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Guardian
No Half Measures leaves trainer in tears after July Cup success
The July Cup, sprinting's midsummer championship race, came up with a boil-over to match the soaring temperatures as No Half Measures, at 66-1, gave the former champion jockey Richard Hughes a first Group One success as a trainer to add to the dozens he won in the saddle. Notable Speech, last year's 2,000 Guineas winner, set off as a warm favourite despite racing at a sprint trip for the first time, but he could not find an extra gear in the closing stages after Neil Callan on No Half Measures hit the front a furlong out. The four-year-old filly stayed on strongly to the line to beat Big Mojo (12-1) and Run To Freedom (40-1), a tricast that paid out at nearly 28,000-1. No Half Measures was the biggest-priced winner in the July Cup's 149-year history, and left her trainer in tears in the winners' enclosure. 'It's brilliant,' Hughes said. 'Disappointments when you're training are very hard and the highs don't meet the lows. We fancied the filly yesterday, Mood Queen [in the Duchess of Cambridge Stakes] and she finished last, which was excruciating, and the highs aren't even high enough. Perth 1.58 Cinammon Roll 2.33 Garde Des Champs 3.08 Trailblazer 3.43 Wasdell Dundalk 4.18 Dalileo 4.53 Top Flight Century Stratford-On-Avon 2.07 Greenrock Abbey 2.42 Al Mootamarid 3.17 Slievegar 3.52 One Horse Town 4.27 Whatyouwaitingfor 5.02 Time Interval 5.35 Grasshopper Time Southwell 2.55 Elara May 3.30 Sovereign Bright (nap) 4.05 Immediate Effect 4.40 Tralee Girl (nb) 5.15 Miss Justice 5.45 The Pouncing Lion 6.15 Amestris 6.45 Endless Whisper '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. '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 [than riding], but more rewarding for sure.' The pecking order among Charlie Appleby's two-year-olds seems clear after Saba Desert quickened a length and a quarter clear of Italy, the odds-on favourite, in the Group Two Superlative Stakes. Saba Desert, the mount of William Buick, Appleby's stable jockey, went off at 6-1 while Wild Desert, the trainer's other runner in the race, was a 7-2 shot, but Buick's judgment outperformed the market and Saba Desert will now be aimed towards Future Champions Day in October. 'We've liked him from the get-go and it's a work-back from the [Group One] Dewhurst now,' Appleby said. 'Whether we decide to go down the [Group One] National Stakes route or the [Group Two] Champagne [at Doncaster in September], we'll see, but he'll get a bit of a break now. There's plenty about this horse, he's a true Dubawi and he'll only get better.' Earlier, More Thunder got up in the final half-stride of the Bunbury Cup under an outstanding ride on the hot favourite by Tom Marquand, who switched from a wide draw to sit last in the early stages and then deliver his challenge up the stands' rail, edging out last year's winner, Aalto, by a nose. Sign up to The Recap The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend's action after newsletter promotion More Thunder had run a similar race over a furlong less when he was similarly well-backed for the Wokingham Handicap at Royal Ascot last time, the key difference being that he had failed by a head to reach the frontrunning Get It. Three strides from the line it seemed he was about to come up agonisingly short once again but Marquand conjured up a final effort from More Thunder which got him over the line with a couple of millimetres to spare. More Thunder moved to William Haggas's stable over the winter after the retirement of Sir Michael Stoute and his new trainer, who considered a run in the July Cup, hopes to saddle the four-year-old for a race at Group One level later in the season. 'We considered it [the July Cup] strongly, but we also wanted to go up to seven furlongs at some stage and this was an opportunity to do so,' Haggas said. 'He could run in another handicap, but I think he deserves a shot at a good race now.'
South Wales Argus
2 days ago
- Sport
- South Wales Argus
No Half Measures stuns July Cup rivals
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.
