'We're really excited about Jasour' - Clive Cox taking aim at third July Cup win as Bucanero Fuerte ruled out

Clive Cox is no stranger to July Cup glory and aims to take a familiar route back to Group 1 success at Newmarket next week. 

The Lambourn trainer is a dual winner of the prestigious sprint and will bid for another victory with Jasour, who was third behind July Cup favourite Inisherin at Royal Ascot last month. 

A missed prep race was the three-year-old colt's undoing in the Commonwealth Cup, where he lost second at the line to Lake Forest, but Cox is optimistic a return to the July course will see an improved performance from the 12-1 shot. 

He will have one fewer rival to contend with after last year's Group 1 Phoenix Stakes winner Bucanero Fuerte was ruled out of the race on Thursday. He had already missed a clash with Jasour in the Commonwealth Cup.

"Jasour's come out of Ascot well but he was probably just a little bit too fresh," Cox said. "We'd intended to run him in the Sandy Lane but had to miss it due to the extremely soft conditions there, which wasn't ideal, so it may have made a difference at Ascot. He's worked really well this week though and I'm encouraged by the way he's seemed since Ascot.

"The July Cup looks a very strong race by the entries, but we're delighted he's got track form and I'm pleased he's heading in that direction, especially with the three-year-olds having such a good record in the race."

A course-distance winner as a juvenile in the Group 2 July Stakes, Jasour will aim to become the sixth three-year-old winner of the £600,000 sprint in the last decade. 

While Cox's first winner Lethal Force was a four-year-old when he won in 2013, Harry Angel continued the strong trend of success for younger horses with his victory in 2017, after which he went on to land Haydock's Sprint Cup. 

Clive Cox: "We've always held Jasour in very high regard"Credit: Getty Images

Like Jasour, Harry Angel was placed in the Commonwealth Cup before striking at Newmarket and Cox is hopeful his latest star can replicate the success as he faces older company for the first time in his career. 

The trainer said: "We were very fortunate to have Harry and Lethal Force, and now we're really excited about Jasour trying to win the same race and go forwards from here as well. He's a high-class performer and I'm just delighted we have that calibre of horse again. 

"We've always held Jasour in very high regard and I think physically he's developed very pleasingly, it's been very visible this spring. It's an exciting time of year when the three-year-old crop come up against the older horses for the first time."

While Bucanero Fuerte will not be in opposition, his trainer Adrian Murray could still be represented by last year's 150-1 Norfolk winner Valiant Force, who finished down the field in the King Charles III Stakes on his first run for the yard.

Murray said: "Bucanero Fuerte lost a bit of weight over at Ascot and he's back riding out, but it's going to take a couple of weeks for him to come back. The July Cup will probably come a bit too soon for him. We'll build him back up and we have plenty of options in the autumn.

"Valiant Force could run in the July Cup. We didn't have him back long before Ascot and he was a bit stiff and sore afterwards. Hopefully, he can come on a good bit from that and we'll see a different horse on his next start."

My Pension Expert July Cup, July 13
Paddy Power: 2-1 Inisherin, 11-2 Vandeek, 8 English Oak, River Tiber, 10 Regional, 12 Elite Status, Jasour, Kinross, 14 Khaadem, 16s bar

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