The July Meeting at Newmarket began on Wednesday. The Falmouth Stakes, for fillies and mares, was the feature. The 1600-metre race brought out Goldikova, Rainbow View, Heaven Sent and Spacious. The last-named, a winner at Royal Ascot, was attempting an encore. Heaven Sent, second to Spacious, was trying to turn the tables on Spacious. Rainbow View, champion freshman but a disappointment as a sophomore, was making an effort to reverse the negative trend. Goldikova, the winner of the Breeders’ Cup Mile last year, had run poorly in the Prix d’Isphahan at Longchamp and was on a mission to resume winning ways in the Falmouth.

The July course was good and Goldikova’s failure in the Isphahan had not eroded any support for the Freddie Head-trained filly and she was the 7-4 favorite. Olivier Peslier had Goldikova second as Spacious made the running. With 250 metres to run, responding to Peslier’s call, the French filly forged ahead and held the fast-finishing Heaven Sent. The winning margin was one half length. Spacious took third another half length away. The time was 1 36.21.

Trainer Head was delighted. “The ground at Longchamp (in the Isphahan) was so bad and the filly could not get out of it. She has been working well and I was very confident. She has a couple of options at Deauville this summer and of course go back to California and win the Breeders’ Cup again is the ultimate aim.”

Jockey Peslier said, “the question was how she was after the last time she ran. She was working well and that was impressive.”

The main race at Newmarket on Thursday is the Princess of Wales Stakes. Campanologist and Duncan are the primary contenders. A flop in Royal Ascot’s Hardwicke Stakes, Dr Fremantle is in the line up.

On Friday, the Darley July Cup is the feature. Scenic Blast, winner of the King’s Stand, is back. Paco Boy will run but it depends on the ground. J J The Jet Plane takes his chances.

At Newmarket on Wednesday, a colt named Elusive Pimpernel made a winning debut. The race was the 1400-metre Mertoun Paddocks E.b.f.Maiden Stakes. An Elusive Quality colt trained by J L Dunlop, Elusive Pimpernel was held up and moved in the last 200 metres to get the lead close home. Eddie Ahern was the jockey on the 12-1 chance. Does not the name ‘Elusive Pimpernel’ bring back memories?

Sea The Stars ran fourth in his debut at the Curragh last year. Driving Snow won the maiden race. Black Bear Island was second and Freemantle took third. We know what Sea The Stars has done since. Driving Snow was trained in Ireland by Kevin Pendergast.

Driving Snow, off for nine months, made his 2009 reappearance on Tuesday in a twilight card at Indiana Downs. The Verglas colt was a 37/10 chance. Jockey Miguel Mena was the jockey. Driving Snow showed no ill effects from the layoff. He won easily. Versaki won a lot of races in Mumbai this year and he is by Verglas.

Darrin Miller trains Driving Snow in America. He showered praise. “I was very pleased. When a horse has been off for as long as he had, you are not quite sure what will happen but he ran a fantastic race. The pace helped him. He won easy enough. This was a starting point and he will improve. The Secretariat Stakes at Arlington Park is the next race.”

At Kempton Park outside London, an experiment was launched. On Wednesday, Kempton had a late afternoon meeting. Fans waved the Union Jack (the British flag) and the London Philharmonic Orchestra performed from a stage next to the winning post. Attendance was bigger than usual. Several fans liked the idea. There was a significant dissenter. It was Ryan Moore who rode Action Impact to victory in the Digibet.Com Handicap when the music was being played. Moore was laconic. “It was stupid.”

Le Havre, the French Derby winner, has been retired. Trainer Jean Claude Rouget confirmed that the Noverre colt had suffered an injury. It has not been determined where Le Havre will stand at stud.

Trainer Rick Dutrow, well known for his exploits with Big Brown, had a ban doubled by the Kentucky Racing Commission. Dutroe’s Salute The Count tested positive for a forbidden substance in 2008. There was a 15-day ban. Dutrow appealed and the Commission increased the ban to 30 days.

Lisa Underwood, the Executive Director of the Commission, explained. “It’s offensive to the betting public to hear that. At some point, we need to draw a line in the sand and say we have to protect the integrity of the sport.”

Jockey Shaun Bridgmohan, a rising star, has been sidelined. He was hurt in a spill during training hours at Churchill Downs on Monday. A Steve Asmussen-trained freshman threw Bridgmohan to the ground. It is reported that Bridgmohan has a compressed fracture of a vertebrae. Jockey Bridgmohan was fifth in the jockey standings with 41 wins at the recently concluded Churchill Downs meeting. He will be out for four to six weeks.

A five year-old broke his duck at Roscommon (Ireland) on Tuesday. Red Rock Canyon, an Aidan O’Brien trainee, was ridden by John Murtagh and was the 4/5 favorite. Tuesday’s start marked the 22nd time the Rock of Gibraltar colt went to the starting gate. Red Rock Canyon has 164,393 pounds in his account. He was used as a pacemaker in several Group I races won by O’Brien’s horses. I will keep you posted about Red Rock Canyon’s next race.

Here are some numbers about our Irish friends. Chris Hayes leads the pack with 17 winners from 250 starts. Colm O’Donoghue has 16 wins from 159 races. Niall McCullagh has five wins in 98 outings. Four of Niall’s wins have come with Mountain Coral. Dan Grant has managed two wins from 58 starts.