Shea Shea delighted connections in a racecourse workout at Newmarket on Monday morning as part of his preparation for the July Cup.
The South African speedster went five furlongs in the hands of work rider Philip Shea on the July Course ahead of the big sprint on Saturday week.
Trainer Mike De Kock’s assistant Steve Jell was pleased the six-year-old was a lot more relaxed than he had been just two weeks ago at Royal Ascot when he was just beaten by Sole Power in the King’s Stand Stakes.
That was his first race since he lifted the Al Quoz Sprint at Meydan in late March. De Kock pulled him out of the Diamond Jubilee Stakes on the final day of the Royal meeting to wait for the July Cup for which he is 5-1 joint-favourite with Lethal Force.
“Shea Shea is a lot more settled after racing at Royal Ascot after a long break and he was fresh going into the race,” said Jell.
“We didn’t run him again at Ascot as there are so many races in a season and we didn’t want to punish him. There’s a good couple of races at York and one in France later on.”
Darley July Cup, Paddy Power betting: 5-1 Shea Shea, Lethal Force, 6-1 Society Rock, 8-1 Pearl Secret, Reckless Abandon, 10-1 Slade Power, Sole Power, Gale Force Ten, 12-1 Gordon Lord Byron, 14-1 Krypton Factor, 16-1 and upwards others.
