2023 July Cup Stakes Tips

Shaquille is the warm favourite to win the July Cup, with the horse having been recording successive wins this season. The latest of these came in the Commonwealth Cup over six furlongs where the horse was able to fend off Little Big Bear by a length, with the horse being trained by Julie Camacho and there was also a fine win at Newbury on 20 May.

That was in the BetVictor Carnarvon Stakes where the runner beat rank outsider Desert Cop by two lengths, with the horse successful in the Howden Handicap over six furlongs where the horse was able to claim the spoils at Newmarket. The horse will once again come up against Little Big Bear who will be hoping to frank the form.

The three-year-old was sent off as favourite for the Commonwealth Cup before being beaten by Shaquille, with the horse obliging at even money over six furlongs when competing in the Nifty Fifty Sandy Lane Stakes. There were some quality wins last summer at the Curragh and Aidan O’Brien will hope that the horse can deliver a victory.

Azure Blue has a string of victories to his name, with the four-year-old having won the Duke of York Clipper Stakes which was a Group 2 encounter which saw the horse claim a win over six furlongs and trainer Michael Dods had previously seen the runner record a victory in the Ellen Chaloner Stakes, with the mare likely to go well here.

2022 Darley July Cup Stakes Tips

It’s always difficult to marry overseas form with the domestic racecards, although Artorius is capable of hitting the frame after running in several Group 1 encounters. This includes the Yulong Stud Newmarket Handicap at Flemington Racecourse over six furlongs, while the horse ran in the Coolmore Stud Stakes at the same course.

However, there are lots of viable UK challengers for this race. If you compare the horse racing odds, then you can find that Creative Force is trading among the favourites. Charlie Appleby will be hoping that his charge can go one better than a second-placed finish at the 2022 Royal Ascot meeting.

The horse lined up in the Platinum Jubilee Stakes at betting odds of 12/1 and rewarded each-way backers when finishing second, with the runner only losing by a neck against Naval Crown and that was a promising run in a highly competitive race, with the horse only headed in the final strides.

We can draw a line through an underwhelming performance in Meydan and there was that victory last year in the Qipco British Champions Sprint Stakes, with that Group 1 success meaning that this horse is on the shortlist for this race.

Perfect Power is the other horse trading at single figure betting odds, with the Irish horse delivering the goods in the 2022 Commonwealth Cup and it was a confident win over six furlongs, with the three-year-old open to further improvement although the runner was down the pecking order in the 2,000 Guineas.

Watch out for the bookmakers who are offering extra places from an each-way perspective, with Racing-Odds.com showcasing the best bookmakers and that means you can compare the latest horse racing odds to get the value.

Dream Of Dreams and Starman Among July Cup Favourites

Dream Of Dreams has the highest official rating when it comes to the 2021 July Cup, with the Sir Michael Stoute-trained horse having recently been seen at Windsor racecourse when winning over six furlongs, with the runner having previously landed the spoils in the Unibet Hungerford Stakes which was a Group 2 encounter.

Jockey Oisin Murphy was then on board the same horse when the runner won the Betfair Sprint Cup Stakes, with this being a fine performance over six furlongs on soft ground, with the horse only narrowly being touched off by Hello Youmzain in last summer’s Diamond Jubilee Stakes.

Starman is set to be well prepared by trainer Ed Walker, with the four-year-old having recently landed the spoils in the Duke Of York Clipper Logistics Stakes which was a Group 2 encounter and there was also a win in the Al Basti Equiworld Dubai Garrowby Stakes last season.

Who Are the Other Best Bets for the 2021 July Cup?

Supremacy comes into the 2021 Darley July Cup Stakes with a strong reputation and a high rating, with the Clive Cox horse having underperformed when finishing dead last in the Qipco British Champions Series horseracinghof.com Pavilion Stakes, although he was sent off as odds-on favourite and that’s because of previous performances.

Jockey Adam Kirby had previously steered the horse to success in the Juddmonte Middle Park Stakes, with the horse having narrowly edged out Lucky Vega on that occasion and we’re expecting the horse to be somewhere near his best here.

Glen Shiel and Oxted could the value each-way bets in the July Cup, with the former an experienced seven-year-old and Oxted has run into the frame for trainer Roger Teal on two occasions this year.

2020 July Cup Stakes betting odds

The UK Flat horse racing season is back up and running, with the Group 1 races coming thick and fast. This includes the Darley July Cup Stakes, with the race taking place on the July course at Newmarket and we’re sure to see a star-studded field lining up for the encounter.

This race takes place over six furlongs on Saturday 11 July, with the July Cup forming part of the British Champions Series, with the majority of bookies making Golden Horde their current favourite although he’s only a marginal betting market leader at this stage.

Indeed, the July Cup betting odds illustrate that it’s a wide open contest and it’s very much up for grabs when it comes to picking out a horse that will win. Golden Horde deserves to be favourite considering that the Clive Cox-trained horse landed the Commonwealth Cup at the recent Royal Ascot meeting.

Adam Kirby steered him to victory on that occasion over the same distance of six furlongs, although he’s likely to have stiff competition on a different track and some punters might want to consider betting alternatives.

Hello Youzmain and Sceptical Among July Cup Challengers

Hello Youzmain is currently trading as the second favourite in the July Cup betting market, with Kevin Ryan the trainer of another horse that managed to oblige at Royal Ascot and that laid down a big marker for what could be achieved this time around.

Kevin Stott was on board the four-year-old as he won the Diamond Jubilee Stakes, with Hello Youzmain showing his battling qualities to come through after initially making a fast start to the race. There was also a victory in the Betfair Sprint Cup Stakes last autumn which suggests that the horse boasts a turn of pace which could make him difficult to catch.

Sceptical could only finish third to Hello Youzmain when the pair clashed at Royal Ascot although the fact that the former was sent off as the 2/1 favourite illustrates that he was highly regarded ahead of the race and perhaps he will come on for the run.

It should also be noticed that it was a very close finish in the Diamond Jubilee, with Sceptical out for revenge in the July Cup and he previously scored three victories at Dundalk on the all-weather before winning at Naas as a prep run for what happened at Ascot.

The History of the Darley July Cup Stakes

Like a lot of recent Group 1 encounters, trainer Aidan O’Brien has enjoyed a lot of success in this race, with the Coolmore handler having saddled U S Navy Flag and Ten Sovereigns in the past two years, with both horses landing a victory.

Clive Cox was the winning trainer in 2017 with Harry Angel and it’s therefore easy to see why Golden Horde could follow in the same footsteps.

The event was very first established back in 1876 and remarkably, Queen Victoria bred the winner of the first two races. Springfield was a colt that resided at the Hampton Court Stud and firmly put the race on the map.

We’re counting down the days until the Darley July Festival at Newmarket, with the July Cup being the showcase race on Saturday and there have been fifteen horses confirmed to run in this Group 1 race.

Advertise is currently the 11/4 favourite with bookmaker bet365, with Martyn Meade training a horse that was initially disappointing this season when running in the 2000 Guineas although the runner reappeared at Royal Ascot in June.

On that occasion, Advertise ran in the competitive Commonwealth Cup although this was a much improved showing from the horse and he registered a victory in this Group 1 encounter at the Royal meeting.

The in-form Frankie Dettori will be on board Advertise for this race and the Italian has been enjoying the Midas touch during the latest Flat racing season, with the trainer clearly delighted to have that particular jockey booking.

Meade said: "I'm very pleased to have Frankie on board again as it's a combination which works well. Frankie rode Advertise at the July meeting last year so let's hope we get the same result."

Meade continued: "I'm not sure you'd say they have a special relationship yet, and I don't suppose Frankie would have stuck with Advertise if Too Darn Hot had been running, but they clearly get on very well and it's great to have that consistency. It gives the horse confidence and it gives all of us confidence too."

A big talking point is whether Advertise will wear headgear at Newmarket considering that the victory in the Commonwealth Cup occurred when the three-year-old was donning blinkers.

Meade hasn’t yet confirmed whether the same strategy will be used on this occasion and it’s possible that the trainer will opt against the blinkers on this occasion.

He said: "We put the blinkers on in the Commonwealth Cup as we'd trained him to run a mile and we thought we maybe needed to sharpen him up a bit dropping to six. He runs perfectly well without them, though, and our dilemma now is whether to leave them on or take them off.

"It was important for us to win that particular race and the blinkers paid off, but I don't think they're essential and whether we declare them again remains to be seen. They were specifically to get him tuned up for that race."

It’s a typically competitive field who will line up for the July Cup, although it might appear that Dream Of Dreams is the chief rival and the market would certainly suggest that this horse could provide a few problems for Advertise.

Sir Michael Stoute trains the five-year-old who is a good deal more experienced than his adversary, with Ryan Moore having ridden the horse to victories at Chelmsford and Windsor before finding Blue Point too good in the Diamond Jubilee Stakes.

Cape Byron is trading as the 9/2 third favourite and can’t be easily discounted in this race, with the five-year-old trained by Roger Varian and he will also have an Italian in the saddle.

Andrea Atzeni is likely to give the horse a good ride and the trainer feels as though the ground and the trip should be to his charge’s liking.

Varian said: "It is a big jump from a Wokingham to a July Cup - but he is rated 113, so he is not going to be out of place in the line up.

"He is streetwise and has been around now, and is pretty uncomplicated.

"He goes on any ground bar very soft. There is a bit of rain around this week. It doesn't look at this stage that it will get very soft, but it would concern me if the ground got very soft.

"He is a nice horse to have going into the July Cup."