July Cup Stakes: Top Picks and Insights It’s the third and final day of this year’s July Festival at Newmarket on Saturday and all eyes will be on the feature Group 1 Al Basti Equiworld, Dubai July Cup Stakes, a race with a long and illustrious history. One of only a handful of top level races run at this distance throughout the season, it’s by far the oldest of its kind, having first been staged in 1876, the first two runnings of which were won by Springfield, a horse bred by Queen Victoria. A field of 15 have been declared for Saturday’s race and our expert has picked out a pair to follow. July Cup Tips Selection Notable Speech Next Best: Whistlejacket Midnite Betting Offer If you already have a Midnite account, check out more of the best betting sites and online casinos Appleby runner can leave us speechless Last season’s 2,000 Guineas and Sussex Stakes winner, NOTABLE SPEECH is a fascinating contender dropping back in trip, and it’s easy to see why he heads the market. Fourth in both the Lockinge Stakes at Newbury on his reappearance and the Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot, connections have opted to supplement him for the race at a cost of £36,000, his trainer Charlie Appleby rightly saying that this will be a big feather in the four-year-old’s cap if he can pull this off, particularly with his stud career in mind. Things failed to pan out for him at Royal Ascot, the lack of early pace ruining his chance, but the prospect of a strongly run 6f, on a stiff track, could be exactly what he needs. He possesses a smart turn of foot and won’t be at all inconvenienced by the anticipated fast ground, having performed with plenty of credit when third in the Breeders’ Cup Mile on firm last November. With no outstanding sprinter on the scene at present, there’s every chance he’ll become the first 2,000 Guineas in over a century to take this premier midsummer sprint. Course form a plus Course form can count for a lot on this track and so Aidan O’Brien’s WHISTLEJACKET demands respect, the No They Never colt having made all to win the July Stakes at this festival last season. He has tended to do his winning on good or slower ground, but he’s run well on much quicker surfaces, including when fifth, beaten just two lengths, in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint last autumn. He was met with plenty of trouble when sixth of the 21 runners in the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot last month and will be in receipt of a handy 6lb weight-for-age allowance. He bids to become O’Brien’s sixth winner of the race, following Stravinsky (1999), Mozart (2001), Starspangledbanner (2010), U S Navy Flag (2018) and Ten Sovereigns (2019). Fillies not out of it Andrew Balding’s Flora Of Bermuda has some solid form to her name at this level and she’s likely to be on the premises once again, albeit she’s probably vulnerable from a win perspective. Fifth in the Haydock Park Sprint and third in the Champions Sprint at Ascot at the end of last season, she’s been every bit as good this year, narrowly beaten by the reopposing Inisherin at York on her comeback and third in the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot last month, she’s got little to find. Really fast ground would be a bit of a worry, however. This may well be the last time we see George Boughey’s Believing, who has recently been purchased by Coolmore in preparation for her retirement to the paddocks. She’s unlikely to go quietly though, given her tenacious nature and a reproduction of last season’s Nunthorpe victory or April’s Al Quoz Sprint success in Meydan would put her firmly in the mix.
