Weekend Review: Mayson wins July Cup in commanding fashion

The Richard Fahey-trained Mayson powered through the testing conditions served up at Newmarket to provide his handler with a first British Group 1 success. Dual champion jockey Paul Hanagan, who steered the colt to victory, was also registering his first top-level domestic win. Mayson, who had started the season off so promisingly, was entering the prestigious contest on the back of two poor efforts, but he bounced back to form in no uncertain terms. He travelled with real vigour throughout the race and could be called the winner some way from home, eventually finishing five-lengths clear of his nearest pursuer, The Cheka, at the line.

Mayson clearly put up a performance far superior to his rivals, but it is likely that the heavy ground played a hugely important part in determining the outcome. Plenty of his rivals palpably failed to handle the conditions, and ante-post favourite Bated Breath was not even permitted to take his chance such was trainer Roger Charlton's fear about the ground.

The race was already missing leading players on the European sprinting scene as Moonlight Cloud and Wizz Kid were not brought over from France, and the depth of quality in the race was perhaps inferior to that of previous renewals. Having said that, such was the authority of Mayson's victory it would be premature to label it as a fluke and he will merit respect on his next start.

Olympic Glory confirmed the positive impression he had made at Royal Ascot by winning the Group 2 Superlative Stakes. Richard Hannon's colt had handled cut in the ground when successful on debut at Goodwood, but this represented a different challenge altogether due to the sheer amount of rain that had fallen at Newmarket. It was not an ultra-impressive performance as he just about managed to fend off the fast-finishing Birdman, but, whilst he will need to step up on this effort to be competitive in the top juvenile races, he remains a smart prospect.

David Elsworth was back in the winners' enclosure as Bonnie Brae landed a typically competitive renewal of the Bunbury Cup. It was only the fifth time that the veteran trainer had saddled a winner in 2012, so the success marked a welcome change of fortune.

Bonnie Brae had plenty of form on a soft surface prior to Saturday, and clearly coped with conditions better than most as she galloped to victory. She is sure to find things tougher in future as she will go up in the weights and might not have such favourable underfoot conditions next time, but for now connections will just be delighted to have won a contest as valuable as the Bunbury Cup.

The Bunbury Cup was not the only ultra-competitve handicap prize up for grabs over the weekend. York staged the John Smith's Cup, with the prize going to the unheralded King's Warrior, belying his Betfair SP of 53.175217/100 as he romped to a comfortable victory. A crack at Pattern-level now looks to be on the agenda for Peter Chapple-Hyam's unexposed gelding, but further improvement will be needed if he is to make his mark in that sphere. Mijhaar was sent off as favourite, but, having travelled up well in typical style, was unfortunate to clip heels, forfeiting his winning chance in the process.

The Silver Cup saw an emphatic winner, as Mount Athos defied top-weight to put in one of the handicap performances of 2012. A troubled passage proved to be no hindrance to the progressive gelding, who burst clear of the pack in most impressive fashion once extracted from a pocket. He was making it two-from-two since being transferred to the Luca Cumani stable and the authority of the victory suggests that he will be competing in all the top staying contests next year. The Melbourne Cup is likely to be the ultimate target for this year, however.

Hamish McGonagall is a bit of a regular on the Knavesmire, and he proved to be a popular winner as he stayed on strongly to defy the persistent challenge of Pabusar in the Listed City Walls Stakes. Tim Easterby's veteran had been awarded a race in the stewards' room at Musselburgh, but it was the first time he had managed to get his head in front since victorious at the same track a year earlier. Saturday's triumph was a justified reward for the tough, consistent gelding and he looks sure to hold his form well throughout the season.

Easterby registered further success as Body and Soul landed the valuable Super Sprint at Newbury. She had looked the form pick prior to the race and was duly sent off favourite to prove best of the twenty-two strong field. An exciting finish, spread out across the track, went the way of the Easterby filly, as she held off the challenges of Satsuma and Momalorka.

Godolphin's Soul backed up the good impression he had created when fourth behind Black Caviar in the Golden Jubilee at Royal Ascot, by storming clear in the six-furlong Group 3 event at Newbury. Soul had been extremely easy to back all morning and was eventually usurped as favourite by Maarek, but the Godolphin horse made light of the market negativity to score by four-lenghts.

Aidan O'Brien picked up another Group 1 prize as Imperial Monarch made amends for his, perhaps, unlucky defeat in the French Derby by winning the Grand Prix de Paris. Joseph O'Brien grabbed the initiative early on, sending the well-backed Ballydoyle three-year-old into the lead, and he managed to maintain the advantage throughout, although was perhaps fortunate to do so as British-raider Main Sequence was denied a clear run and looked like an unlucky loser. O'Brien has plenty of options at middle-distances as Imperial Monarch joins St Nicholas Abbey and Camelot in a formidable looking team, and it will be interesting to see where this talented son of Galileo is ultimately targeted.