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Saturday’s Racing Tips

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Saturday is the final day of the July festival at Newmarket, and after studying the prices on betting sites, we’ve picked out three runners to follow at the Rowley Mile.

Ascot and York are part of the supporting cast and there are a couple of runners at each venue to take note of for our Saturday racing tips.

Al Basti Equiworld, Dubai July Cup Stakes Tips

The July Cup is always a sprint to savour and is a race in which favourites have only a modest recent record, with one outright and two joint market leaders winning in the past decade. Upsets, as with Mill Stream’s 11/1 success last year, are not uncommon.

This time, Notable Speech looks set to be the market principal on horse racing betting sites and that’s no surprise. He’s the top on official BHA ratings, holding a mark of 118 and has finished fourth in successive Group 1s this season, the Lockinge and the Queen Anne.

Last year’s 2,000 Guineas and Sussex Stakes winner has raced exclusively over a mile to date but he has never been short of pace and is very interesting now dropping to 6f for the first time.

Flora Of Bermuda was third in the Group 1 Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot, when the front pair were clear and Inisherin was a shade disappointing. However, the latter is officially rated just 2lb lower than Notable Speech but is available at more than twice the price.

Last year’s Commonwealth Cup winner, he has proved himself capable on the big stage and he’s a specialist over this trip. You have to put a line through his last effort but with cheekpieces now tried to help sharpen his focus, he could get back to the form of his Group 2 Duke Of York success from York in May and pick up another elite prize.

Whistlejacket, who won last year’s Group 2 July Stakes over C&D and represents top connections, is not ruled out.

Bet365 Bunbury Cup Tips

There was little to choose between More Thunder and Ten Pounds, who finished second and third respectively in Royal Ascot’s Wokingham Handicap last time. Neither is fully exposed and should have more to come.

Reflecting on that Wokingham form, which looks the strongest recent race to focus on with this contest in mind, More Thunder came with a late rattle to deny Ten Pounds second place. Neither was able to peg back the winner, Get It.

The disparity in price on betting apps going into the Bunbury Cup looks too big. Pound for pound you could argue that, with a less favourable draw, Ten Pounds was at least as good as the William Haggas-trained runner at Royal Ascot and he’ll be just as suited by the return to further as will the favourite. He looks the proverbial ‘each-way bet to nothing’ and represents the value in the race.

15.25 Newmarket Tips

Only seven have been declared for this winning prize of over £25,000 and the standout looks to be Bedouin Prince. The Ghaiyyath colt was just pipped on debut at Kempton last November but has won at both Doncaster and over Newmarket’s Rowley course since.

The latter was a much improved effort, making all and drawing clear to win by nearly five lengths. The runner-up, Wicked, came out and won next time, so the form looks very solid.

Trainer Charlie Appleby clearly targets this race, having won four of the last seven runnings of it and we should take the hint.

14.00 York Tips

This race kicks off a big day at York and, while both Remmooz and Old Cock will understandably have their followers, Blue For You has become a standing dish on the Knavesmire and is taken to maintain some strong form at the track.

The winner of this race for the last two season, David O’Meara’s charge is 1lb lower than last year’s win and the best five pieces of form of his career have been over this C&D. Arguably, he might be a touch better on slightly slower ground but he has won here on good to firm.

His recent form figures don’t look as impressive as the front two in the market but he’s won here on the back of lesser efforts previously and he looks to have been laid out for a another tilt at this.

15.10 York Tips

One of York’s biggest prizes of the season has again drawn a large competitive field. Only one joint market leader has won this in the past decade and a low draw is very much a positive.

This year’s favourite, Archivist, has that on his side in addition to some strong recent form. However, he’s plenty short enough on most horse racing betting apps and there look to be several lurking here who’ve been trained with this day in mind.

Faylaq is an interesting runner for Jim Goldie, although the longer Ebor trip might better suit him next month. Thunder Run arrives in cracking form but has not been done any favours by the draw, and the same goes for several others who can have some sort of case made.

An interesting entry for Tim Easterby is Austrian Theory, who is 1lb higher than when going close at Chester’s May meeting. He’s twice been beaten over this C&D since then but he’s nicely drawn and a 5lb claim by his pilot, Warren Fentiman, won’t do any harm. Conditions and trip are fine for him and he looks worth a small each-way play for a yard that do well at this venue.

14.22 Ascot Tips

It was hard not to be impressed by the performance of Never So Brave in winning the Buckingham Palace Stakes (7f). He looked to have plenty in hand at Royal Ascot and both trainer Andrew Balding and jockey Oisin Murphy seemed pretty confident that he was a group horse running in a handicap.

Here, he gets the chance to back up that theory, stepping up into Group 2 company after the handicapper put him up 10lbs for that latest success.

With almost £80,000 going to the winner, expect this to be more competitive but he’s on an upward trajectory and the way he won the Buckingham Palace suggests he’ll be more than happy now upped to this trip for the first time.

16.50 Ascot Tips

Both Royal Ascot’s Wokingham and today’s earlier Bunbury Cup at Newmarket (14.50) will serve as pointers to this, given that the two leading players in the latter contest finished immediately in front of Holkham Bay at the Royal meeting.

The last-named is, therefore, likely to go off as the favourite for this contest and a good performance from either or both More Thunder and Ten Pounds at Newmarket would only add weight to Holkham Bay’s case here.

He finished really strongly from stall 29 that day, when he did really well considering he had nothing to race against on the nearside. This time he’s drawn in stall 1 and I’d expect him to blast out and be much handier over this shorter trip. If he can get out into a prominent position and get clear of any traffic issues, then he could be difficult to pass.

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