Key Points
- My top five horses to follow this month
- Take your pick from sprinters to stayers
- All five horses have entries this month
For the last couple of months, I’ve recommended one horse to follow, but due to the popularity of this feature, I’m upping the ante, and as a result you’ll have five horses to follow in July 2026!
Before I start discussing the five horses, allow me to introduce myself. I’m Gav, better known as RacingGav here and on X/Twitter. I’m the resident horse racing expert for Betting.co.uk, and I’ve been here since March 2025.
Most of my content consists of
free horse racing tips, but that’s only a small part of what I do. I also recommend trainers to follow each month, publish educational guides, and collate big race trends too.
My Horses to Follow for July 2026
- No Retreat
- Aalto
- Big Mojo
- Raammee
- Trawlerman
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Here are my top five horses to follow!
It’s time to reveal my five horses to follow for July 2026. All five have entries this month, so hopefully you’ll be able to see all of them in action!
No Retreat
George Scott’s No Retreat was a huge eye-catcher at Royal Ascot 2026. He ran in the Royal Hunt Cup and was cruising through it, but he was badly hampered, and lost momentum. For a moment it looked as though Billy was going to ease him off completely, but he asked No Retreat to rally, and he did exactly that. He managed to pass a few rivals, but wasn’t able to do enough to be involved at the finish. In my opinion, he is far better than he was able to show that day.
All of that before we get onto the draw bias that dominated the straight course throughout Royal Ascot 2026. It was glaringly obvious that horses drawn high benefitted from a bias all week. The Royal Hunt Cup was just one example, five of the first six horses to cross the line were drawn in stalls 33, 23, 8, 32, 22, and 24. Consequently, No Retreat was always going to be up against it running from stall seven.
No Retreat currently has multiple entries this month, and he has been declared to run in a 7f Handicap at Newmarket on Saturday. He could well be a Group horse in a Handicap, and he should have a good chance of winning. Other possibilities for him this month are the ÂŁ100,000 Bunbury Cup at Newmarket on Saturday 11 July, or perhaps the ÂŁ150,000 Moet & Chandon International Handicap at Ascot, which takes place later this month.
Aalto
Aalto runs for the Ian Williams stable and I have already tipped him for the
Bunbury Cup
in the antepost market. Make sure you check out that article if you haven’t already. For that reason, I hope No Retreat won’t head for the Bunbury Cup too.
As explained in my more detailed article, Aalto caught my attention at York. He already has proven form in the Bunbury, and he’s handicapped to strike. I posted my antepost tip in June, and he has had another run over C&D since then, where he finished a close second. That was his best effort in this campaign so far, and he should now be cherry ripe for the big one next week. Interestingly, the extra 2lb he was given by the handicapper for that last race could actually help him to get into the Bunbury Cup. As things stand currently, 72 horses are entered, and only 19 can run, so we’ll need to keep our fingers crossed.
Big Mojo
My third horse to follow is Big Mojo. My long-term followers may remember that I tipped Big Mojo to win the
Group 1 Sprint Cup Stakes at Haydock
last September, and he did us proud by winning at 16/1. When I tipped him for that race, I highlighted that he had previously finished a neck second in the July Cup Stakes. He was running on, and led inside the final furlong, before being nailed by No Half Measures in the last 110yds. The pair burst away from the field that day and it was the type of race where neither really deserved to lose. A fact that was reflected in the very strong RPR of 121 Big Mojo produced that day.
I’m sure the Group 1July Cup Stakes has been circled on Michael Appleby’s calendar for a while, and that’s where we should see Big Mojo next. Hopefully he can go one better than last year, although it will be a tougher task, as he no longer has his 3yo allowance, but he should be bigger and stronger now anyway. I liked his Royal Ascot run a lot, as he was only beaten by 2.25 lengths and was staying on over an inadequate 5f trip.
Raammee
It’ll be a busy Saturday next week, as Raammee, my fourth horse, is expected to run in the John Smith’s Cup at York. Raammee is trained by Roger Varian, and will run in the Sheikh Ahmed Al Maktoum silks. As we saw with Sallaal at Epsom last month, Roger Varian knows how to smuggle a Group horse into a Handicap and I think Raammee could be another one of those.
The horse certainly made an impression on his second start in a Novice Stakes at Newcastle which he won by 12 lengths to go two from two. He was keen and looked in need of the run when he came fourth at Sandown on reappearance, so I’m happy to overlook that. With that run under his belt, he settled much better at Sandown last time out, where he wore a first time hood. I thought he ran a cracker, as was only denied by half a length at the line. That was off a mark of 95, and he was awarded a RPR of 106.
The handicapper has only put him up 3lb to 98, which could prove too lenient. He stayed on strongly over the 1m trip at Sandown, and will move up to 1m 2.5f in the John Smith’s Cup at York. Based on his latest performance he should have a huge chance, but if the step up in trip unlocks more as I expect it to, he could be a serious weapon.
Trawlerman
You’ll need to wait until the end of the month to see Godolphin’s Trawlerman in action, as he isn’t expected to run again until the Goodwood Cup Stakes on 28 July. As a five-time Group winner, with two of those at the highest level, he needs little introduction. Trawlerman had a fantastic UK last year. He won on reappearance at Sandown, before landing the Ascot Gold Cup. He then went on to win the Lonsdale Cup at York, before heading back to Ascot to land the QIPCO British Champions Long Distance Cup.
Sadly, he didn’t have a smooth path to the Ascot Gold Cup this year, headed there without a prep run. I half expected him to blow up in the home straight, but to his credit, he battled to the line, and although Scandinavia beat him, it was only by a head. Given the circumstances, I feel that the lack of preparation is what beat him. But now that he’s race fit, I think he will take some stopping in the Goodwood Cup Stakes.
Will these five horses fulfil expectations in July?
I’m confident that all five of these horses are worth following this month. You’ll only need to wait until Saturday 11 July to see Aalto, Big Mojo, and Raammee in action, and although the Bunbury Cup is a possibility for No Retreat, that would mean a very quick turnaround, so he is far more likely to head for the Moet & Chandon at Ascot on 25 July. Last but not least, Trawlerman looks all set to add the Goodwood Cup Stakes to his CV on 28 July.
There’s no need to feel obliged to back any of these horses, unless you want to of course. But do make sure to add them to your tracker, and that way you’ll get a reminder when they are running. Other than that, I hope you have enjoyed reading about my five horses to follow in July 2026, and I’ll be back again next month with five more for you.
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