No Half Measures springs 66-1 July Cup shock | Racing Information
A sometimes thrilling renewal of the July Cup threw up one other story with 66/1-shot No Half Measures turning into the largest priced winner of the Group One contest since its inception
Richard Hughes’ filly ran out a shock winner of the Al Basti Equiworld, Dubai July Cup Stakes at Newmarket.
At 66-1 she was an actual outsider within the Group One contest, and from stall 15 she stored out of hassle below Neil Callan on the far facet of the observe.
Because the six-furlong occasion reached the enterprise finish, she was selecting off rivals and after locking horns with Huge Mojo, it was No Half Measures who got here out on prime by a neck with an additional size and three-quarters again to Run To Freedom in third.
Hughes steered Oasis Dream to victory within the 2003 July Cup and after taking on coaching in 2015, No Half Measures is his first Group One winner as a handler.
An emotional Hughes mentioned: “I’ve simply acquired a bear hug off William Buick and he is lower my lip!
“It is sensible. Disappointments if you’re coaching are very onerous and the highs do not meet the lows. We fancied the filly yesterday Temper Queen and he or she completed final, which was excruciating, and the highs aren’t even excessive sufficient.
“It is an up-and-down sport, however I am coping higher with it now than I used to. It has been a troublesome sufficient journey to get to right here, however I am undoubtedly appreciating extra now than once I began.
“I did not admire all these good horses once I was driving, I simply took it with no consideration and I used to be very fortunate to be driving for Richard Hannon and having the Khalid Abdullah job – I used to be privileged to be driving good horses yearly.
“It has been a troublesome sufficient journey to get to right here, however I am undoubtedly appreciating extra now than once I began.”
Of gaining his first Group One as a coach, he added: “I’ve acquired the monkey off my again that is for positive and I can retire now saying I rode a July Cup winner and skilled one, in order that’s very nice.
“In fact I need extra, it is my nature as I am very aggressive, but when you do not have the horses you possibly can’t prepare them.”
No Half Measures gained a handicap at this assembly final yr earlier than graduating to Group Three and Listed success, however Hughes admitted he had not anticipated to hit the mark on the highest stage.
He mentioned: “She gained right here final yr in a handicap and when Ryan (Moore) acquired off her I requested him if we would get a little bit of black sort and he mentioned ‘she’s higher than that’, which is one thing Ryan by no means says! He is a realist, so I used to be fairly shocked by that.
“We plotted to get our black sort and we acquired it and he or she’s executed nothing however enhance.
“There was little or no stress right this moment actually. At midway I assumed she was going OK after which I simply held my head as a result of I could not imagine what was occurring!
“I simply thought if she’s going to get caught she’s going to caught, as a result of they usually do, however I’d have been happy even with second or third, so to win is only a bonus.”