Expert Punter
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As we head into the third and final day of the 2024 Newmarket July Festival we have an excellent day of racing ahead, with plenty of Group action to watch. We’ve still got the chance to pick up a few more winners on Saturday, as I take on the two highlight races of the day.
My best bet of the day comes in the Group 2 Superlative Stakes where we have a strong lineup of two-year-olds, but I think my selection is a class ahead of his rivals and he will prove extremely tough to beat. He is a strong traveller and looks open to so much improvement here that any of the others in the field can keep up with him over the seven furlong trip.
Then just over an hour later we have the July Cup Stakes, with a very intriguing lineup, but similarly, I think my selection here will simply prove too strong for the rest. Another strong traveller who has a wicked turn of foot and with all systems go since Royal Ascot, he should prove very tough to pass. I am hoping for a really good day from this pair on Saturday so let’s all sit back and enjoy some spectacular racing on Saturday!
Once again, Bet365 gets my vote, thanks to the excellent free bet deal they are offering to new customers. If you
bet £10, you’ll get £30 in free bets. Last chance to get ready for the weekend.
My first selection on Saturday comes in the Bet365 Superlative Stakes. Richard Fahey runs the Wathnan racing-owned Columnist here, who finished a close third in the Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot, and looks like he will probably progress further. However, my issue with him here is that he was bred for speed, and the seven furlong trip doesn’t look like a positive. The Parthenon is also an interesting contender for Ballydoyle. He was green on debut in a Group 3 at the Curragh and made hard work of justifying favouritism next time out, but he is sure to improve off the back of that and is dangerous to write off.
Based on that, I think the one to side with is current favourite
Ancient Truth, who looks open to plenty and won easily last time out here at Newmarket. He looks much more straightforward in comparison to his closest rivals and the way he quickened clear over course and distance last time was very impressive indeed.
He looks like a smashing colt to go forward with, and he would hardly need to improve much to set himself apart from this field.
This is a very classy colt for the Godolphin team and he will take the world of beating here.
The highlight race on Day 3 is the Group 1 July Cup Stakes and we have a very strong lineup for this year's renewal. Vandeek is seriously impressive, and was unbeaten as a two-year-old, but his first start this season was a bit of a disappointment and he never even got close to Inisherin at Haydock. He may well improve for that, but he has plenty of questions to answer against some more reliable sorts. Regional could potentially have an each way chance if the ground doesn't get too soft and sets the standard for the younger horses, but with more rain forecast, I can’t rely on him performing at his best.
Which leads me to think that Inisherin is the one to back here. He took a big step forward from his 2000 Guineas run when dropped back to six furlongs and has won both starts since then. The mile was clearly a bit too much of a stretch for him, but he has bags of speed and has looked a completely different animal back over this trip. On his latest outing he won the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot by more than two lengths, travelling strongly and finishing with a wicked turn of foot - a deadly combination over this trip. That was on firm ground but he has also won on soft previously, so unless some of his rivals improve a lot, he will be seriously hard to stop here.
15:25 - Ancient Truth @ 7/4 (NAP)
16:35 - Inisherin @ 9/4
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