We are just three days away from the start of the July Festival at Newmarket.
The three-day July Festival at Newmarket takes centre stage this week, featuring the Group 1 Falmouth Stakes on Friday and Saturday's July Cup.
Before that, the Group 2 Princess of Wales's Stakes headlines the Thursday card. The ante-post favourite for the race is Ghostwriter, who joined Amo Racing for £2 million on the eve of Royal Ascot before finishing 3rd in the Hardwicke Stakes.
Interestingly, the fifth favourite in the latest betting odds for the July Cup, Whistlejacket, is by far the most popular selection through oddschecker in the last seven days (32% of the bets).
July Festival Newmarket Dates
The 2025 July Festival at Newmarket will get underway on Thursday 10th July, finishing on Saturday 12th July. Respective declaration dates for each day's racing will be Tuesday 8th July (Thursday), Wednesday 9th July (Friday) and Thursday 10th July (Saturday).
July Festival Newmarket Dates
There will be seven races each day of the July Festival at Newmarket, with the feature race on the first two days taking place at 15:35. Saturday's July Cup is at 16:35.
Thursday Races
| Time | Race | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| 1.50pm | The Bahrain Trophy | 13F |
| 2.25pm | The Kingdom of Bahrain July Stakes | 6F |
| 3.00pm | The Bet Boost at bet365 Handicap Stakes (Heritage Handicap) | 6F |
| 3.35pm | The Princess of Wales's Stakes sponsored by The Kingdom of Bahrain | 12F |
| 4.10pm | The British Stallion Studs EBF Maiden Fillies' Stakes | 6F |
| 4.45pm | The Edmondson Hall Solicitors Sir Henry Cecil Stakes | 8F |
| 5.20pm | The Handicap Stakes | 8F |
Friday Races
| Time | Race | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| 1:50pm | The bet365 Handicap Stakes | 10f |
| 2:25pm | The Duchess of Cambridge Stakes | 6f |
| 3:00pm | The bet365 Trophy | 14f |
| 3:35pm | The Tattersalls Falmouth Stakes | 8f |
| 4:10pm | The Weatherbys British EBF Maiden Stakes | 7f |
| 4:45pm | The Dubai Racing Club Handicap Stakes | 5f |
| 5:20pm | The Handicap Stakes | 7f |
Saturday Races
| Time | Race | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| 1.40pm | The Rossdales British EBF Fillies' Maiden Stakes | 7f |
| 2.12pm | The Fillies' Handicap Stakes | 7f |
| 2.50pm | The bet365 Mile Handicap | 8f |
| 3.25pm | The bet365 Superlative Stakes | 7f |
| 4.00pm | The bet365 Bunbury Cup (Heritage Handicap) | 7f |
| 4.35pm | The Al Basti Equiworld, Dubai July Cup | 6f |
| 5.10pm | The Trust A Trader Handicap Stakes | 12f |
July Festival Tips
Steve Ryder's ante-post tip for this week at Newmarket comes in the Bunbury Cup, one of the more popular handicaps run during the UK flat season named in honour of Sir Charles Bunbury who was Senior Steward at the Jockey Club and introduced both of the classics held at Newmarket.
His selection is based on the following race trends:
- 11 of the previous 12 winners were aged between four and six
- 11 of the previous 12 winners were beaten last time out
- 10 of the previous 12 winners had at least one previous run at Newmarket
- Nine of the previous 12 winners were rated between 98 and 101
- Eight of the previous 12 winners had at least two previous wins over 7 furlongs
Ten Pounds hits four of these five and only misses out on the ratings trend by 1lb so he should hold strong claims in an open renewal.
He was an impressive winner over 7f at Newmarket on the Rowley Mile course on his reappearance this season and ran with credit at Royal Ascot last time finishing 3rd beaten only half a length in the Wokingham Handicap when dropped to 6f for the first time.
Those two superb efforts are sandwiched by a poor effort at Ascot in the Victoria Cup when he got upset in the stalls and raced keenly as a result in the early stages of the race.
