Champion juvenile filly Pretty Pollyanna to drop in trip for July Cup

Last year's champion juvenile filly Pretty Pollyanna is set to revert to sprinting in next month's Darley July Cup.

A three-year-old filly has not won the July festival highlight since Habibti in 1983, but Michael Bell's Irish 1,000 Guineas runner-up looked ripe for a drop in trip when only seventh in the Group 1 Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot last Friday.

During a juvenile campaign that was topped by a Group 1 win in the Prix Morny at Deauville, Pretty Pollyanna showed she was very effective over six furlongs on the July course when running out a seven-length winner of the Group 2 Duchess of Cambridge Stakes a year ago.

A 25-1 chance with Paddy Power for the July Cup, the daughter of Oasis Dream will be encountering her seniors for the first time on July 13.

Tim Gredley (centre): 'A mile stretches her out a bit'

Tim Gredley said: "It makes sense to go back to what Pretty Pollyanna does best, which is sprinting. She achieved her highest rating ever when winning on the July course last year and the July Cup ticks a lot of boxes. She did marvellously well to be placed in a Classic but we feel a mile stretches her out a bit.

"The stiff six should be more her game and three-year-olds have a good recent record in the race. Also, she has the race in her blood as her sire Oasis Dream won it in 2003."

Brando among opposition

Brando remains on course for a third crack at the race after connections deliberately skipped a clash with Blue Point in last Saturday's Diamond Jubilee.

The smart seven-year-old has shown a real fondness for Newmarket, finishing placed in the last two editions of the July festival's feature Group 1, and is as short as 8-1.

Owned by Angie Bailey, who likes to name her horses after screen stars, Brando is trained by Kevin Ryan and was last seen winning a decent conditions race at Hamilton.

In 2017 the son of Pivotal was third to Harry Angel in Europe's most prestigious sprint and he finished second to US Navy Flag last year, while his form on Newmarket's Rowley Mile course reads 1113.

"It was always the plan to run Brando in the July Cup so it's all systems go," said Ryan's son and assistant Adam.

"We were never going to take him to Royal Ascot – it's quite hard for these sprinters to be at their best for Ascot and the July Cup and he's got such good form at the two Newmarket tracks that it made sense to take him there as a fresh horse.

"For some reason he enjoys running downhill. We can't put our finger on it, but he loves both Newmarket courses.

"The July Cup is a very difficult and prestigious race, especially nowadays when it is the culmination of a long wait for the three-year-olds to take on the older horses for the first time.

"Brando's been placed in it twice before so if he were to win it this time it would be fantastic for us and live long in the memory."

Brando: back to formCredit: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

Brando has won at the highest level, landing the Prix Maurice de Gheest two years ago, and Ryan added: "He's a total gentleman at home and a bit of a yard favourite. He's very laid-back and so easy to deal with, he's an absolute saint and everyone loves him.

"He's got form on all sorts of ground. As he gets older maybe he prefers a bit of juice in the ground but I wouldn't be worried about fast ground – the main thing with him is to have a truly run race and you'll certainly get that at Group 1 level."

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