'It Was An Easy Watch': Donnacha Has His Day As Comanche Brave Strikes In The July Cup

Saturday's G1 Al Basti Equiworld, Dubai July Cup looked a wide-open renewal and a deep one on paper and duly produced a tight finish with Comanche Brave (Wootton Bassett) prevailing at 11-1.

Having watched dad and big brother share the spoils in several of the summer's big events so far in 2026, it was the turn of Donnacha O'Brien to enjoy the limelight in the feature of Newmarket's July Festival. Seventh in Royal Ascot's Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes after his win in the Greenlands, Muhaideb Almuhaideb's four-year-old enjoyed the perfect tow from the 2-1 favourite Satono Reve (Lord Kanaloa) before being committed by Billy Loughnane with 1 1/2 furlongs remaining.

Staying on strongly as Venetian Sun (Starman) closed, he had a length to spare over the star three-year-old filly at the line, with Satono Reve a neck behind in third. “He was very impressive at The Curragh and we were a little bit underwhelmed at Ascot, but he never looked like anything but the winner today,” the trainer said after greeting the winner, who added extra gravitas for the O'Briens having been bred by his family's Whisperview Trading. “Billy gave him a beautiful ride and he's a good bit better than I ever was! He never looked in trouble and it was an easy watch.”

As is the norm in most of the big global sprints at present, the focus soon turns back to the Far Eastern majesty of Ka Ying Rising, who had the winner and third well-beaten in the Chairman's Sprint Prize in April. That was the fourth time that David Hayes's untouchable had dismissed Satono Reve, but in his absence the punters felt that Hajime Satomi's dual Takamatsunomiya Kinen winner was the one to be on here.

For the first four furlongs, that market support looked fully justified with Christophe Lemaire swinging along at the head of affairs, but the picture soon changed with Satono Reve errant running down into the dip and Billy The Kid full of horse. The Japanese challenger was coming back at the line as Venetian Sun stuck to her task gamely, but neither were able to land a serious blow on a colt who thrived for this speed test on these undulations.

“What a fantastic spare ride to pick up and this race couldn't have gone better,” Loughnane said. “He's obviously just learning how to sprint and where the pace at Ascot was muddling, this was well-run today. He's a fast horse and I was taking him back the whole way–he's got a lot of gears, this horse and now he is really beginning to learn to sprint the sky is the limit.”

This was only the winner's fifth career start at this trip, with a third in the Jersey at Royal Ascot and a fifth in Field Of Gold's Irish 2,000 Guineas the picks of his three-year-old form. The trainer is keen to return overseas in the near future. “We're always glad to travel them around the world and when you have a world-class sprinter you have to showcase them,” he added. “He ships well and is in all the big sprints. He's in at Haydock [Sprint Cup] and I'm sure we'll want to go travelling again with him at some stage.”

“I think he is a high-class horse and he has proved that today. That run behind Ka Ying Rising was his first run back at six furlongs. It was around a right-handed track, he had only ever gone right-handed once before, and he had to travel halfway across the world so he wasn't disgraced by any means. Billy said we could even go back to five with him, which is unusual for a horse coming back from a mile so we'll get him home and make a plan.”

Tony Bloom and Ian McAleavy's Prix Morny and Commonwealth Cup heroine Venetian Sun was no match for the winner on this unsuitably fast ground as she tried to end a drought for her age and sex that has lasted since Habibti's triumph in 1983, but again covered herself in glory. Despite losing her unbeaten tag over sprint trips, Karl Burke was delighted. “She is a top-class filly and she has proved that today,” he said. “I hope when the autumn comes we get the rain we are not getting now.”

“We have got to think about the Maurice de Gheest, as that is in four weeks' time. If she comes out of it well, that is doable as well. That is a big possibility, but we will do what is best for her. She has raced on this ground as a two-year-old, but every time she came in, even when she was winning, Cliff was saying she feels the ground. The only time she ran on soft ground was at Haydock Park, and she showed what she can do there.”

Christophe Lemaire said of Satono Reve, “He was looking around and racing well, but didn't pick up as I expected. He kept his beautiful stride, but just didn't gear up as I expected.”

The July Cup heads to Ireland! 🇮🇪

Comanche Brave, trained by Donnacha O'Brien, dominates a red-hot renewal of the @ABE_Dubai July Cup under @loughnane_billy.@WorldPool | @NewmarketRace pic.twitter.com/F98z8KtC64

— Racing TV (@RacingTV) July 11, 2026

Pedigree Notes
Comanche Brave is out of the Jersey winner Ishvana (Holy Roman Emperor), who was also runner-up in the Irish 1,000 Guineas in the colours of Annemarie O'Brien. She is a full-sister to the dam of No Nay Never's Star Appeal Stakes winner Mountain Bear, who was placed in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf and Turf Mile at the highest level. From the excellent Ballymacoll family of Hellenic (Darshaan) et al, she also has Wootton Bassett's unraced three-year-old filly Existence.