Newmarket July Festival 2021
Welcome to the ultimate Newmarket July Festival betting guide! The Moet & Chandon Newmarket July Festival is the most prestigious meeting held on Newmarket's July Course and runs for three days starting on the second Thursday of the month. The highlight is the Group 1 July Cup on the Saturday which was won last year by Aidan O'Brien's US Navy Flag.
For many years, it was held from Tuesday to Thursday but switched to Wednesday to Friday in 2005 before moving to its current timeslot in 2011. The other Group 1 of the week is the Falmouth Stakes for fillies and mares on the Friday, but there is a host of quality action including a real puzzle for horse racing betting fans, the Bunbury Cup.
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Newmarket Ante-Post Betting
The July Cup is the only race which has a long-term ante-post market although the Falmouth and the Bunbury Cup will be priced up a couple of weeks ahead of the festival.
The big sprints throughout the season will prompt changes in the July Cup betting, but the biggest effect will stem from two six-furlong races at Royal Ascot – the Diamond Jubilee Stakes and the Commonwealth Cup. The latter, for three-year-olds only, was first run in 2015 and has become a solid guide to the July Cup with the Classic generation barred from the Diamond Jubilee.
The Commonwealth Cup's first winner, Muhaarar trained by Charlie Hills, followed up in the July Cup on his first clash with older horses. After winning the 2016 Commonwealth Cup, Karl Burke's filly Quiet Reflection was third in the July Cup.
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Newmarket July Festival - Betting the Jury Cup
The July Cup is the big race and the big betting race of the festival. It usually attracts more than 10 runners and, despite it being a stakes races, some horse racing bookies will go each-way a quarter of the odds on the day.
On the betting front, the Bunbury Cup is usually next in punters' thoughts. Run two races before the July Cup over seven furlongs, this is an ultra-competitive handicap for horses aged three years and over. There are usually 16 runners or more so bookies will pay out each-way on the first four places and look out for those offering a bonus place. There is also the Silver Bunbury Cup, for horses who miss the cut for the big one, on the Friday.
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Newmarket July Festival Tickets
Tickets are still available for all three days on the Jockey Club site but Ladies Day, with Radio 1’s Nick Grimshaw playing a DJ set after racing, is likely to sell out.
The Garden Enclosure, further from the winning post, offers the cheapest tickets at £16 apiece. Next up is the Grandstand and Paddock Enclosure which is £31 on Ladies Day, £28 on Feel Good Friday and back to £31 on July Cup Day.
The most expensive non-hospitality tickets are in the Premier Enclosure which are £52 on Ladies Day, £44 on Feel Good Friday and £48 on July Cup Day. Group discounts are available on each day, and under-18s are free to enter any enclosure on July Cup Day with additional free entertainment and activities in the Garden Enclosure.
Hospitality prices range from £125 for the Champions Lawn and Picnic Package through to £480 for the Moet & Chandon Trackside Pavilion Dining Experience.
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Newmarket Betting Markets
- The July Cup I is the big race and the big betting race of the festival. It usually attracts more than 10 runners and, despite it being a stakes races, some bookies will go each-way a quarter of the odds on the day.
- Bunbury Cup I On the betting front, the Bunbury Cup is usually next in punters' thoughts. Run two races before the July Cup over seven furlongs, this is an ultra-competitive handicap for horses aged three years and over. There are usually 16 runners or more so bookies will pay out each-way on the first four places and look out for those offering a bonus place. There is also the Silver Bunbury Cup, for horses who miss the cut for the big one, on the Friday.
- Falmouth Stakes I This race has been won by three exceptional Irish fillies – Alice Springs, Roly Poly and Alpha Centauri - in the past three years. But 2012 was the last time it attracted eight runners or more so it is far from the best betting race.
- Bahrain Trophy I The meeting kicks off with the Bahrain Trophy over one mile and five furlongs (2,600m) which can be an informative trial for the St Leger. Masked Marvel in 2011 was the last victor to go on to win the Doncaster Classic with 2014 hero Hartnell perhaps best known for seeing the rear end of Winx on several occasions in Australia.
- Princess of Wales's Stakes I Also on Thursday is the Group 2 Princess of Wales's Stakes over a mile and a half (2,400m). Several top-class middle-distance horses and stayers have won this including Millenary (2002 and 2003), and the gutsy Big Orange (2015 and 2016) who went on to win the 2017 Ascot Gold Cup. Winners are often targeted at the Melbourne Cup.
- Handicap Races I As well as a myriad of handicaps and maidens over the three days, there are also three interesting juvenile races which used to provide Classic clues although these now tend to be won by more precocious types. The July Stakes over six furlongs (1,200m) is on day one with the fillies' Duchess of Cambridge (formerly the Cherry Hinton) on day two over the same trip. Recent winners of the Duchess of Cambridge include 2015 Juddmonte International victor Arabian Queen (2014) and Roly Poly (2016).
- The Superlative Stakes I This race on the Saturday over seven furlongs (1,400m) went to super stallion Dubawi back in 2004 and top-class miler Olympic Glory in 2012. But other winners have failed to achieve much in their Classic year and beyond.
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Newmarket July Festival 2020 Schedule
Thursday 11th July – Ladies Day
- 1.50 Bahrain Trophy (Group 3)
- 2.25 July Stakes (Group 2)
- 3.00 Bet365 Handicap
- 3.35 PRINCESS OF WALES'S TATTERSALLS STAKES (GROUP 2)
- 4.05 British Stallion Studs EBF Maiden Fillies' Stakes
- 4.40 Sir Henry Cecil Stakes (Listed)
- 5.10 Handicap
Friday 12th July – Feel Good Friday
- 1.50 Bet365 Trophy (Silver Bunbury Cup)
- 2.25 Duchess of Cambridge Stakes (Group 2)
- 3.00 Bet365 Handicap
- 3.35 TATTERSALLS FALMOUTH STAKES (GROUP 1)
- 4.10 Weatherbys British EBF Maiden Stakes
- 4.45 Handicap
- 5.20 Handicap
Saturday 13th July – Darley July Cup Day
- 1.50 Rossdales British EBF Maiden Fillies' Stakes
- 2.20 Bet365 Mile
- 2.55 Bet365 Superlative Stakes (Group 2)
- 3.30 BUNBURY CUP (HERITAGE HANDICAP)
- 4.05 Bedford Lodge Hotel & Spa British EBF Fillies' Handicap
- 4.40 DARLEY JULY CUP (GROUP 1)
- 5.15 Handicap
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Hi, I'm Diarmuid Nolan
"Diarmuid is a published horse racing journalist and creator of the #racehour twitter community which produces a weekly podcast and a home for all things horse racing throughout the flat and jumps season across the UK and Ireland."
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