'That was as good as finishing second in the Stayers' Hurdle' - Trevor Whelan praises runner-up Run To Freedom

'That was as good as finishing second in the Stayers' Hurdle' - Trevor Whelan on July Cup second Run To Freedom

Run To Freedom (green colours - centre) finishes second in the July Cup
Newmarket 15.7.23 Pic: Edward Whitaker

Run To Freedom (green, centre) finishes second in the July CupCredit: Edward Whitaker

Trevor Whelan compared second place on outsider Run To Freedom in the Pertemps Network July Cup with his previous career highlight when Lil Rockerfeller finished runner-up in the Stayers' Hurdle at Cheltenham in 2017.

Although at the other end of the stamina scale, the Henry Candy-trained colt outran his odds of 28-1 when going down by a length and a half to Shaquille in the Group 1 feature on Newmarket's July course.

The five-year-old had previous form for this sort of surprise result having finished second to Kinross, who he finished a short head in front of this time, in the Group 1 British Champions Sprint at Ascot last year at 150-1.

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David MilnesNewmarket correspondent

Published on 15 July 2023inReports

Last updated 19:25, 15 July 2023

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16:35 Newmarket (July)

Pertemps Network July Cup Stakes (Group 1) (British Champions Series)8 ran

1st
9Shaquille
fav5/2
2nd
5Run To Freedom
28/1
3rd
4Kinross
4/1