11/07/000: Japanese raider Agnes World heads a field of 11 declared today for the Darley July Cup at Newmarket on Thursday.
Winner of the Prix de l'Abbaye at Longchamp last October, the five-year-old was runner-up to Nuclear Debate in the King's Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot last month.
The Danzig entire, trained by Hideyuki Mori, has been vying for favouritism in the ante-post market at around 4-1 with Godolphin's main contender Lend A Hand.
John Reid has been called up to ride the five-year-old with Richard Hills on Godolphin's other runner Bertolini.
Godolphin's other entry Sampower Star was one of six withdrawals at today's 48-hour final declaration stage.
The Cork And Orrery Stakes runner-up had been quoted as short as 8-1 in the betting, as was another absentee Bernstein.
The latter's trainer Aidan O'Brien, successful with Stravinsky 12 months ago, will be doubly-handed with Monashee Mountain and Rossini having also taken out Warrior Queen.
The 48-hour declaration stage appears to have caught out David Nicholls, who had intended to run Rudi's Pet.
"I wasn't aware of it. There's not a lot I can do is there?", said the shell-shocked trainer.
George Duffield will ride the visored-first-time Monashee Mountain for Aidan O'Brien but no rider has been booked as yet for Rossini.
That means that stable jockey Michael Kinane will miss the entire three-day July meeting, as he is still sidelined with a back muscle problem he sustained at the Curragh 10 days ago.
Nicholls admitted that his failure to declare Rudi's Pet was the "biggest cock-up" of his training career.
"I hold my hands up. It's my fault, I just didn't realise.
"The Racing Calendar is misleading as it does say you have to declare your jockey on the Wednesday. But I should have scrutinised things more closely.
"I do the entries myself. There's nobody else to blame. I've made the biggest cock-up of my career. I've not been training that long and it's a learning curve.
"I have spoken to the owners and explained to them the situation. Like me they are very disappointed.
When asked about any revised plans for Rudi's Pet, the Thirsk trainer replied: "The races are mapped out for him. We wanted to run him in the July Cup to see if he gets six furlongs."
