"Blade gives Dascombe his first Group win"

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HE has not been training long enough to establish the race-winning pedigree of a Peter Chapple-Hyam or a Richard Hannon, yet Tom Dascombe made a solid start when he exploded the established pecking order to land the TNT July Stakes to record his first Group victory yesterday, writes Jon Lees.
Chapple-Hyam, seeking his third win in five years, and Hannon his fourth in the oldest two-year-old race in the calendar, were relegated to second and third spot as Classic Blade - entered "on a whim" by third-season trainer Dascombe - made all the running under Richard Kingscote in the Group 2 race.
"He won a Class 2 conditions event last time and I said to the owners, 'let's stick him in and see what happens'," said Dascombe.
"I was out in America but managed to get on my computer and saw there were only nine entered. I thought we had to go for it.
"It's amazing. Our target last year was to have a Listed winner, which we achieved with Max One Two Three, and our target this year was to win a Group race; so we better make it two Group winners now.
"Above anything else, I'd just like to say a big 'thank-you' to all my staff because they all worked really hard for this."
Classic Blade cost ¿19,000 at Fairyhouse and will now contest the e300,000 Tattersalls (Ireland) Sales race at the Curragh on August 23 for the numerous members of the Classic Strollers partnership.
Kingscote, whose biggest win before this was in a £60,000 Ascot handicap, will ride him again.
He said: "Tom gives me brilliant orders and trusts me and everything worked out well. It's our first Group winner and it's great for the yard. Tom's an up-andcoming trainer and he's doing brilliant."
Sayif, Chapple-Hyam's challenger, was reeling in Classic Blade approaching the line and failed by only a short head.
His jockey Alan Munro said his mount ran off a straight line and should have won.
The ground was blamed for the defeat of Prolific. Harry Herbert, managing director of owners Highclere Thoroughbred Racing, said: "He travelled like a very good horse but once Ryan Moore let him down he couldn't quicken. As long as the ground is good or faster he will run in the Gimcrack."
Result TNT July Stakes 1 Classic Blade ............6-1 2 Sayif ........................3-1 3 Prolific ....................2-1f Owner Classic Strollers Trainer Tom Dascombe Jockey Richard Kingscote Groom Aimee Barnes Breeder Ballybrennan Stud Distances Sht hd, 3l