July Cup betting with William Hill

The July Cup is one of the most important 6f races on the horse racing calendar and is the feature event of the Newmarket July Festival. The Group 1 race is staged on the closing Saturday of the three-day meeting and is open to three-year-olds and upwards.

The July Cup betting often features the top sprinters in Europe and the race has also attracted runners from Japan and Australia. Famous past winners include Moorestyle (1980), Sharpo (1981), Royal Academy (1990) and Oasis Dream (2003).

July Cup betting tips

Many recent July Cup winners contested the King’s Stand Stakes, Commonwealth Cup or the Diamond Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot. Most have won over 6f previously and were having at least their second race of the season.

Previous winning Group race form is certainly a big plus when calculating your July Cup bet. Sprinters can bridge the gap between handicaps and Group races, but will usually have shown that they can be competitive at this level.

Aidan O’Brien won the July Cup for the first time with Stravinsky in 1999 and struck again with Mozart two years later. Starspangledbanner brought him his third success in 2010, a Group 1 winner in his native Australia. US Navy Flag provided the Ballydoyle trainer with his fourth July Cup victory in 2018.

French-trained horses to have won the July Cup include Anabaa (1996) and Marchand d’Or (2008).

Australian-trained sprinters have been successful at Royal Ascot, but have found a July Cup win more difficult to come by. They must adapt to a very different training regime between Royal Ascot and the Newmarket Festival and some have run well below form.

There’s no significant draw bias on the July course at Newmarket, but it’s worth remembering that front runners can be difficult to peg back. Most of the hard-luck stories in the July Cup come from horses finishing fast from off the pace.

July Cup betting trends

Close study of July Cup odds reveals that favourites have a mixed record in the race. Winners such as Pastoral Pursuits (2005) at 22/1 and Mayson (2012) at 20/1 illustrate the open nature of this race.

A run of three successive winning favourites ended in 2017 when Blue Point was well beaten behind Harry Angel.

No horse has managed to win the race twice in the modern era, Right Boy being the last to do so in 1958 and 1959.

It’s extremely unusual for a horse older than five to win the July Cup. Les Arcs did triumph as a six-year-old, but that was back in 2006. Horses aged three and four have dominated in recent years.

July Cup ante-post betting pointers

The three big sprint races at Royal Ascot often hold the key to the outcome of the July Cup. Although plenty of King’s Stand Stakes winners run here, very few have managed to succeed. That race is over 5f and they are often a spent force in the closing stages.

Sole Power won the King’s Stand Stakes twice, but was well beaten three times in the July Cup.

The 6f Diamond Jubilee Stakes, formerly the Cork and Orrery Stakes, has proved a much better guide for July Cup tips. Starspangledbanner (2010), Lethal Force (2014) and Slade Power (2015) all completed the sprint double.

The Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot can also affect the July Cup odds. The race was only established in 2015, the year when Muhaarar won both races. Harry Angel was second to Caravaggio in the Commonwealth Cup prior to winning the July Cup in 2017.

The main target races for the top sprinters after Newmarket are the Prix Maurice De Gheest at Deauville and the Sprint Cup at Haydock. Some July Cup winners have managed to drop down successfully to 5f in the Nunthorpe Stakes at York.

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July Cup history and memorable winners

The inaugural running of the July Cup was won by Springfield in 1876, a colt bred by Queen Victoria at the Hampton Court Stud. He repeated his victory the following year. Several horses have won the race twice but only Sundridge (1902 – 1904) achieved three July Cup victories.

Lester Piggott is the most successful jockey in the history of the July Cup with 10 winners spanning 35 years.

Four of those were on horses trained by Vincent O’Brien, notably Thatch (1973) and Solinus (1978). His final success came at the age of 56 aboard Mr Brooks for Richard Hannon Snr in 1992.

Agnes World became the first Japanese-trained winner of the July Cup for Hideyuki Mori in 2000. He had signposted his victory when finishing second in the King’s Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot.

He was popular in the July Cup betting and started 4/1 clear favourite, before winning by a short-head under Yutaka Take.

In 2011, Hayley Turner rode her first Group 1 winner aboard Dream Ahead in the July Cup. The horse had run against Frankel on his previous start at Royal Ascot over a mile. Turner had to overcome trouble in running before sweeping through to win by half a length.

Chief Singer was a brilliant winner in 1984 for Ron Sheather and Ray Cochrane. He had finished runner-up in the 2000 Guineas to El Gran Senor before winning the St James’s Palace Stakes by eight lengths. Other notable July Cup winners include Habibti (1983), Ajdal (1987), Cadeaux Genereux (1989) and Limato (2016).

July Cup 2021

Godolphin’s Blue Point was a popular July Cup tip last year, but faded to finish only seventh. He had won the King’s Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot on his previous start. The five-year-old has returned to his best in Dubai this spring and could be a contender at Newmarket again this summer.

Mabs Cross also remains in training for Michael Dods, the narrow winner of the Group 1 Prix de l’Abbaye in October. The mare has raced almost exclusively at 5f, including when beaten a nose in the Nunthorpe Stakes by Alpha Delphini.

She races in the same colours as 2012 winner Mayson and could be an interesting proposition at 6f.

Sands Of Mali ended 2018 on a high when beating Harry Angel in the British Champions Sprint at Ascot. He finished one from last in this race a year ago but that was clearly not his true form.

City Light was just touched off in the Diamond Jubilee Stakes last summer and that is reported to be his prime objective this season.

Aidan O’Brien is sure to feature strongly in the July Cup betting market and he has several likely candidates for top sprint honours.

Ten Sovereigns and Fairyland hold Classic entries in the 2,000 Guineas and 1,000 Guineas respectively. As he showed with US Navy Flag last season, O’Brien is never afraid to drop his horses back in distance for the top sprint races.

Another horse who could enter the July Cup betting is John Gosden’s Calyx. He was an impressive winner of the Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot and is not guaranteed to stay a mile. Gosden has already stated that the colt will be given an entry in the Commonwealth Cup.

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