Persian Force (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}), runner-up in the G2 Coventry S. at Royal Ascot, is an 'outstanding chance' to following in his sire's hoofsteps to win the G2 July S. on July 7, according to trainer Richard Hannon. Owned by Amo Racing, the colt won his first two starts at Doncaster and Newbury in March and May, respectively.
“Persian Force worked super on Tuesday and the July S. has always been the plan since he finished second in the Coventry S. at Royal Ascot,” said Hannon.
“It comes at the right time for him and he will love the track. I don't think there will be as many runners in the Coventry and he should have an outstanding chance.
“He proved at Ascot he is a very good 2-year-old. Mehmas did exactly the same–he was second in the Coventry and then went for the July S. and won that.
“The draw at Ascot was funny as it turned out you wanted to be on the far side so in hindsight it probably turned out that it was a disadvantage being in 12 where he was. But I'm not using it as an excuse and we will see how much of a disadvantage it was in the July S.
Another Hannon charge, the McMurray Family's Group 3 winner Happy Romance (Ire) (Dandy Man {Ire}), is aiming for the G1 Darley July Cup on July 9. The trainer has yet to win the race. The 4-year-old filly was third in the G3 1351 Turf Sprint in Riyadh on Feb. 26 and was a close second in the G1 Al Quoz Sprint on Mar. 26. After some time off, she returned to take seventh in the G1 Platinum Jubilee S. at Royal Ascot.
He said, “She has a listed entry at Chelmsford on Sunday, but If she goes to the July Cup, she will go very well. She ran a very good race in Meydan and at Royal Ascot too. She would have just needed it at Royal Ascot as she just twisted a joint before. We put her on the equine spa that we now have and it did her a lot of good.
“She was only beaten two lengths at Ascot. She is a very good filly and seems to be getting better as she has got older. With her normal improvement, they could well find it hard to beat her with the amount she has come on for that run. I do think she is overpriced.”
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