Fascinating July Cup Renewal Ahead At Newmarket

There is plenty of quality on offer on Saturday and ITV Racing will be showing 10 live races throughout the afternoon.

This includes the Group 1 July Cup which will be settled in little over a minute and features a couple of recent Royal Ascot winners and other interesting runners. Blue Point is probably a worthy favourite but there could be value elsewhere.

Brando to be the man

With Blue Point and Eqtidaar in the mix for the July Cup along with the intriguing U S Navy Flag dropping back to six furlongs and the Australian challenger Redkirk Warrior on his retrieval mission the July Cup promises to be a fascinating renewal but Brando is a horse that appeals at 14/1.

A Royal Ascot absentee, Brando won his first start of the season at Newmarket and was second to Harry Angel next up at York before going down to Merchant Navy at the Curragh last time.

The six-year-old has good form from last year and is a Group 1 winner in this sort of company. On quick ground over six furlongs he is a force to be reckoned with.

There’s no doubt that Kevin Ryan’s sprinter is vulnerable to some of the younger rivals but he was third in this race last year and with some question marks to be erased by some of the horses shorter in the betting, Brando is advised to land the spoils.

Dalgleish knows the Story

Dermot Weld’s Tandem goes to York for the John Smith’s Cup on Saturday and the master of Rosewell always warrants respect when he goes across the water in search of opportunities.

Tandem would have a solid each-way chance on the basis of his Cork Derby form and given that he will be expected to improve from that.

However, the preference is What’s The Story for Keith Dalgleish and 3lbs claimer Callum Rodriguez.
What’s The Story ran a blinder behind impressive winner Settle For Bay in the Royal Hunt Cup at Royal Ascot and in a race that was put to bed quickly by that impressive winner that day, What’s The Story caught the eye in behind when finishing fourth and back up to 10-furlongs here could be ideal.

Another tight call for Landline

Tom Cleary has done a fantastic job with Landline since obtaining him from Jim Bolger and after two wins at Naas within the last month the son of Vocalised can make it three on the bounce with a win at Navan today.

A course and distance winner in the past, Landline only had a neck and a head to spare respectively when winning those two Naas races and having been given a chance by the handicapper by only going up 3lbs for his defeat of Ratting Jewel, Landline looks to have a strong chance of completing the hat-trick.

This is a very competitive contest but the drop in trip shouldn’t be an issue for Landline who could well book his spot in a decent race at Galway by securing another victory here.

*Prices correct at time of publication

Recommended bets
Brando 14/1 – Newmarket 2.15
What’s The Story 12/1 – York 3.40