In times and a season when Group 1 races across England and Ireland are being dominated by the powerhouse operations of Coolmore, Godolphin and increasingly, Wathnan, Saturday’s July Cup served up a refreshing change. At 66-1, No Half Measures - a filly who had been picked up by trainer Richard Hughes for just £34,000 at Goffs - surged down the July Course to land one of the world’s great sprints.

For trainer Richard Hughes, the emotions told the story. “It means everything,” he said, voice cracking, just minutes after watching his four-year-old flash past the post ahead of Big Mojo and Run To Freedom. “I’ve waited 10 years as a trainer for a Group 1. And it’s this one, the July Cup. I won it as a jockey. I dreamed of winning it (as a trainer).”

Drawn in stall 15, away from the more favorable rail and with a profile made up of form in mostly lower grades, No Half Measures was priced accordingly by bookmakers and largely ignored by punters. But the filly, whose 50% strike rate shows how much she likes to win, took her form to another level as she battled to the line to take her stats to seven wins from fourteen runs.

Ridden by veteran Neil Callan, who only recently returned from Hong Kong, the daughter of Cable Bay settled behind the early pace set by Spycatcher and Notable Speech. Callan bided his time. “I let her find her rhythm. I didn’t chase her,” he recalled. “She was always travelling. Then she gave me a serious gear in the last half-furlong.”

That “serious gear” saw her fly by Big Mojo in the final 50 yards.

Bred by Whitsbury Manor Stud, No Half Measures had won six times and had won a Listed sprint at Deauville last August, but she had never been considered among the sprinting elite. Her pedigree, by Cable Bay out of the Helmet mare Fascinator, suggests speed with a touch of late development.

Richard Hughes admitted they’d nearly gone elsewhere. “We were thinking about the Sapphire Stakes next week,” he said. “But she’d been working the house down. We thought, if we’re ever going to try six at this level, why not now?”

Indeed!