Caravaggio's Ascot antics give Limato camp reason for hope

Henry Candy hopes he may have found a chink in the armour of red-hot Darley July Cup favourite Caravaggio as he sends last year's Newmarket hero Limato into battle with the sport's new sprinting sensation on Saturday.

Victory in the Commonwealth Cup extended Caravaggio's record to six wins from as many starts, boosting a reputation enhanced further by flattering comments from trainer Aidan O'Brien, who has described the unbeaten son of Scat Daddy as the fastest horse he has ever trained having clocked 45 miles per hour at home.

On Saturday, Caravaggio will be reopposing Commonwealth Cup second Harry Angel but also meeting top-class older opposition, not least the royal meeting's Diamond Jubilee Stakes one-two-three, The Tin Man, Tasleet and Limato.

At Ascot, Limato was partnered by Caravaggio's jockey Ryan Moore but for the return to Newmarket's July course, last year's winning rider Harry Bentley will be back on board and seeking to inflict a first defeat on a Coolmore colt who has five stablemates among the 15 horses left in Europe's unofficial supreme sprint championship.

While the Paul Jacobs-owned Limato can be backed at 6-1, Caravaggio is no bigger than 5-4. Even so, Candy is not waving a white flag having noticed the three-year-old's appearance and behaviour last time.

He said: "Caravaggio was very impressive at Ascot but, although it was a warm day, he did get warm enough himself.

"If he was mine, I'd be a little apprehensive about his antics in the stalls that day. I'm therefore not sure there isn't a chink in his armour, but it may be that I'm just clutching at straws."

Assessing his own contender, Candy added: "He had to tack across a long way from his draw at Ascot and then ended up in front a little too soon. They were probably the deciding factors.

"If we can drop him in at Newmarket and he can improve by a pound or two, which I think he can, he won't be without a chance.

"However, this is definitely a stronger race than last year. As well as Caravaggio there is Harry Angel, who looks exceptionally fast, a very good and gradually improving horse in The Tin Man and Tasleet, who also finished in front of us at Ascot.

"My hope is they will go very fast early on, as that would suit Limato best. You can't be confident in such a strong race, but I don't think he'll be far away."

Given some felt the O'Brien-trained Intelligence Cross was ridden prominently at Ascot to unsettle the sometimes keen Godolphin front-runner Harry Angel, the latter's trainer Clive Cox may well be awaiting Thursday's declaration stage with added interest, given the possibility of a mass assault by Ballydoyle that could include the same thorn.

O'Brien on Monday referenced the gap between the Commonwealth Cup and July Cup, although that is one day more than the time between the Diamond Jubilee and Newmarket's big attraction.

O'Brien said: "The plan for Caravaggio since Ascot has been the July Cup and everything seems to have gone very well with him since.

"Having said that, it is only 22 days between the Commonwealth Cup and the July Cup and he hasn’t done a lot since Ascot, but he seems to be fine.

"We started him off against older horses at Naas and knew we would be back against the three-year-olds at Ascot, which we were happy about.

"We felt that Ascot will have hopefully brought him forward again because we knew we were going to be facing older horses from here on."

Excited about the £500,000 feature is The Tin Man's jockey Tom Queally, who said: "It’s a fascinating renewal and will potentially go down as one of the top July Cup's.

"There are so many different factors at play going into the race and so many fancied horses, I think it’s going to be some spectacle."

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