Shaquille shapes Ten to Follow leaderboard with July Cup romp

Shaquille has burst out of the pack to top the Tote Ten to Follow standings in similarly emphatic style to his breathtaking July Cup victory on Saturday.

Success in the Newmarket Group 1 brought Shaquille’s followers 54.80 points as a competition bonus race. When added to his Commonwealth Cup haul of 62.30 it means he nudges Derby and Irish Derby winner Auguste Rodin off the top perch, with another dual scorer in the competition, St James’s Palace and Eclipse winner Paddington, third.

While that Aidan O’Brien-trained pair have the support of 34.8 and 29.9 per cent of teams, Shaquille had just 4.3 per cent of players cheering him on in the July Cup and so his victory has had a key role in shaping the leaderboard in which he features in the ten leading teams.

Auguste Rodin and Paddington are also staples of the top-scoring teams and although the competition has three months to run it would seem that having those two Ballydoyle stars and Shaquille on board is likely to be a prerequisite for success.

Nashwa, who was a useful points scorer last season, was surprisingly selected by only 2.4 per cent of teams, largely because her reappearance did not come until the end of June and that resulted in an odds-on defeat. However, she made up for that shaky start with a five-length victory in the Group 1 Falmouth Stakes to reward the faithful few with 31.60 points.

Feed The Flame was the other Group 1 scorer last week, collecting 29.90 points in the Grand Prix de Paris, with the prospect of a fruitful season on the way to the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. However, unsurprisingly, only 0.5 per cent of teams have included the Pascal Bary-trained son of Kingman.

The classy Master Of The Seas took 28.30 points in the Summer Mile at Ascot but the lightly raced gelding had the confidence of just 0.3 per cent of entrants, while Duchess of Cambridge winner Persian Dreamer went unloved in the competition, so the 26.00 points she garnered go begging.

It was a similar tale in the Princess of Wales’s Stakes in which 30.4 per cent of players were willing home Adayar as he succumbed to Israr, whose 24.50 points went to just 0.2 per cent of teams.

LATEST STANDINGS

LEADING HORSES
1 Shaquille 4.3% of teams 117.10 points
2 Auguste Rodin 34.8% 109.86
3 Paddington 29.9% 106.23
4 Triple Time 0.4% 92.50
5 Mostahdaf 0.5% 69.10
6 Courage Mon Ami 1.4% 63.20
7 Age Of Kings 0.1% 58.10
8 Soul Sister 25.9% 55.64
9 Tahiyra 55.4% 52.67
10 Bradsell 0.4% 46.30

LEADING TEAMS
1 The Plant 12 487.50 points
2 DWT5 469.03
3 q3 467.90
4 Medway Valley Stud 458.10
5 Robert Winchcole55 16 454.90
6 Bilko’s Banditos 2 454.67
7 Stoney2 432.92
8 MyCatChance 53 427.16
9 Antrim 11 427.15
10 Seathestars2 425.43

LEADER'S STABLE
Shaquille 117.10 points
Auguste Rodin 109.86
Paddington 106.23
Soul Sister 55.64
Tahiyra 52.67
Blue Rose Cen 31.30
Chaldean 13.30
Big Rock 1.40
Modern Games 0
Mostabshir 0

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