Ratings Update from Timeform | Best performances from Newmarket's July Festival

Emphasis on speed suits Donnacha O'Brien runner in July Cup

The feature race on Saturday – the Al Basti Equiworld, Dubai July Cup – saw a smaller field in line with the recent trend, with Royal Ascot helping to streamline the division.

However, the three sprinting Group 1 winners all turned up, alongside the Wokingham winner whose form wasn't far behind those of the principals in the Diamond Jubilee, but in any event they were all upstaged by one of the also rans from the Royal meeting, Comanche Brave (up 4 lb to 122).

He got back to looking the progressive sprinter he had going in to the Royal meeting and coped best with the speed test this provided to run out a worthy winner. He seems to be getting faster with racing and the greater emphasis on speed here suited him down to the ground; sticking to 6f at Haydock looks the safe route, but the Flying Five at the Curragh will also appeal to connections and there's every reason to believe he'd cope at the minimum trip based on this, for all he's yet to try it.

Runner-up Venetian Sun (remains on 118) lost her unbeaten record at 6f but found only one too good and again emerges with credit, this form more on a par with what she achieved at Royal Ascot than at Haydock which adds further credence to the theory that softer ground is likely to bring out the best in her.

Satono Reve (119) was strong in the betting but again couldn't fully replicate his form from the Far East (had the winner behind when runner-up to Ka Ying Rising in the Chairman's Sprint Prize). If anything, in a race of fine margins, this not quite so good as his Royal Ascot run either.

Of the rest, Coppull (fourth, up to 116) produced a clear career-best and would likely have gained a place had he helped his rider a bit more in the closing stages, while the change in tactics rather than the return to 6f appeared the undoing of King Charles III winner Mission Central (118).

Godolphin runners dominate on Day One

As has often been the case, Charlie Appleby struck in two of the Group races on the opening day of the Debenhams July Festival, first with Inner City Blues (now 107p) in the Kingdom Of Bahrain July Stakes, and then with Rebel’s Romance (remains on 122) in the feature Princess of Wales’s Stakes.

At contrasting stages of their careers, the former needed to be no more than shown the whip in the final furlong to beat some good yardsticks. There’s plenty about him physically and lots more to come; he's entered in the Gimcrack and the National Stakes at the Curragh, his stable having a good record in the latter, and he should have little problem staying 7f.

Rebel’s Romance had won the Yorkshire Cup and the Hardwicke last year, but connections had settled on a lesser Group 2 this time round. Off a four-month break, he didn't have to run to his best to gain a twenty-second win from 32 starts, a remarkable record, one that reflects great credit on the way he has been handled. Whether there will be many more at the age of eight open to question - he's not entered in the King George (third last year), though perhaps the top-flight races he won in Germany or the US later last year will come under consideration.

The other Group race on day one, the Bahrain Trophy, has often been a good marker for up-and-coming stayers and this year looks no different. Won last season by Scandinavia, who went on to land the Goodwood Cup and St Leger having been beaten in the Queen's Vase on his start prior to this, Point of Law (up 7 lb to 109) repeated that feat and put himself in the St Leger picture, though this renewal tested speed more than stamina, with the tempo lifting only in the last half-mile. That Aidan O'Brien didn't field a runner perhaps also detracts a little from the race as a St Leger trial.

Blue Bolt the pick of the fillies on Day Two

Although Ladies’ Day was officially Thursday, it was a pair of fillies who starred on the track on Friday, firstly as Queen Mary runner-up Senorita Bonita (up 10 lb to 107p) got up late on in a driving finish to see off Albany winner Libertango (106p) and the once-raced Alwaysanangel (big step up to 100p) in the Duchess of Cambridge Stakes. Keen enough on her first try at 6f, the Cheveley Park is the obvious race for a main target for the winner, with the Lowther under a penalty a likely next option.

70 minutes later, Blue Bolt (up 2 lb to 119) also proved a quick reappearance to be no problem as she duly built on her Duke of Cambridge win at Royal Ascot, back at Group 1 level, by toppling the Irish Guineas and Coronation Stakes winner Precise (remains on 116) in the Falmouth Stakes. There was a lot to like about the way she won, better than ever and likely to take plenty of beating in the top fillies' races at a mile, the Rothschild and Matron the obvious next races for her.

The year-younger Precise – whose all-conquering stable is now without a win in the Falmouth since 2017 - holds entries at Group-1 level at all distances from 7f up, but she's surely now ready for a step up in trip, and has the potential to get right back to her best when she does.

Al Hudaiba set for bigger things after Day Three success

Godolphin added a couple more winners to their tally on Friday, and connections were soon celebrating again on Saturday as Al Hudaiba (now up to 107) continued his progress with a narrow win over hot favourite Abraham Lincoln (also 107p) in the Group 2 Superlative Stakes.

The winner overcame the rise in class, aided by the runner-up's inexperience, but once again didn’t look at all straightforward, his rider doing very well to persuade him to the front after he'd looked very awkward in the Dip. He's got the ability to do even better still, though his attitude is an obvious concern. Abraham Lincoln is also sure to progress further; a pattern race victory will surely come sooner rather than later.

Other creditable performances

Away from the Group contests, juvenile performances of note came from Haffner (now 90p) who won a maiden that Aidan O’Brien had run Constitution River and the subsequent Dee Stakes winner Mount Kilimanjaro inthe last two runnings, and Scommessa Sicura (87), a filly part-owned by England footballer Reece James who looks likely to go up in grade after winning at the fourth attempt.

In terms of the handicaps, Aalto’s (101) last-gasp win in the Bunbury Cup was another fine example of his trainer’s ability at target training. It was the horse’s first win since this race in 2024, back in a tongue strap after it was left off last time, and he'll presumably be trained for this race again next year, seeking to emulate Mine as a three-time winner.

The most emphatic handicap winner of the meeting, however, was Planet Seeker (big jump to 103p), a Blue Point filly who relished the longer trip when upped to 7f on Saturday. It was no surprise on pedigree that she could produce this sort of effort, being out of the classy Dancing Star, and she’s sure to go on to better things.

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