3 minute read
Progressive gelding lands July Cup
The highly progressive Oxted (4 g ex Charlotte Rosina by Choisir) handed the Cheveley Park Stud-based stallion Mayson (Invincible Spirit) his first Group 1 winner as he landed a thrilling edition of the July Cup (Gr 1, 6f) - and also provided trainer Roger Teal and young jockey Cieren Fallon with their first elite level wins.
Last seen winning the Abernant Stakes (Gr 3, 6f) on June 5, the four-year-old gelding hit the front with a furlong left to travel and he proved too hard to catch, beating Sceptical (Exceed And Excel) by a length and a quarter with another neck back to Golden Horde (Lethal Force) in third.
"It's unbelievable. Harry [Teal's son] has done a fantastic job − he said last week that this horse would win the July Cup. We believed, although we knew what we were up against it,” said Teal.
"Cieren rode a peach, he's such a cool little dude. I think he's got a bit of a future, don't you?"
Fallon - who is the son of six-time champion jockey Kieren Fallon - was having his first ride in a Group 1 and he said expressed his delight at the result.
"I can't put it into words," said Fallon. "I'm speechless. I was just a passenger on a very good horse today.
"There's a lot of pressure going into a Group 1 like this. I spoke to my dad beforehand. He said keep it simple, keep him travelling coming up to the Dip and let him go and see what's underneath you.
"I'm very lucky I have the support I have to keep progressing."
The gelding is out of winning mare Charlotte Rosina (Choisir), whose other foal to race is also a winner. Oxted becomes the first stakes winner in three generations of his family.
The gelding also shares a page with Group 2 winner Captain Horatius (Taufan).
Mayson becomes the fourth son of Invincible Spirit to sire an elite level winner, joining Yarraman Park’s I Am Invincible, Kingman and Lawman.
Invincible Spirit stood at the Irish National Stud for a fee of €100,000 this year and he is represented in Australia by his sire sons, leading sire I Am Invincible, Cable Bay, National Defense, Shalaa, Territories, Shalaa, while Magna Grecia and Royal Meeting, who will stand their first seasons in 2020 at Coolmore Stud and Aquis Farm respectively.
A massive performance from the Roger Teal-trained Oxted, who lands the Group 1 Darley July Cup Stakes in thrilling style under @CierenFallonJr
— Newmarket Racecourse (@NewmarketRace) July 11, 2020
@RogerTealRacing pic.twitter.com/49uxASxbu7
