John Ingles provides an overview of the key things to note on Thursday.
Del Maro can get his nose in front this time
Newmarket’s July Festival gets under way with some disappointingly small fields for its main events on Thursday, though the Bahrain Trophy (13:50) for three-year-old stayers looks an interesting contest where none of the five can be ruled out.
Ratings-wise, the standard is set by the maiden Alderman after his staying-on fifth in the Derby at odds of 100/1, though he’ll have much firmer conditions to contend with this time, and not being the best of movers, it remains to be seen how he’ll handle the ground. Royal runner Point of Law could be more of a threat after showing improved form on just his third start to finish fourth in the Queen’s Vase last time, though in two of those starts he has finished behind Del Maro who he may well find too strong again.
A record of one win from eight starts doesn’t really do ‘Hot Trainer’ Charlie Appleby’s German-bred colt justice, that sole success coming in a novice at Yarmouth in April over a mile and a quarter when he beat Point of Law, who was making his debut, by half a length. He couldn’t land a blow behind Benvenuto Cellini in the Chester Vase but in both his last two starts, Del Maro has been touched off by a nose, going down to Golden Story in a listed race at Goodwood and then making ground hand over fist from well off the pace to force a photo with Limestone in the Queen’s Vase, earning the ‘Horse In Focus’ and ‘Sectional Timing’ flags. He relished the longer trip at Royal Ascot and there’s every chance he can go one better now.
Thunder Call can uphold York form
The heritage handicap on the first day of the July Festival is for three-year-olds over six furlongs (15:00), a contest in which Quinault, who is entered in Saturday’s July Cup, beat the subsequent winner of that race Mill Stream, in 2023.
Quinault had beaten Mill Stream into third in a similar event at York the previous month, and that same contest looks like being key to this year’s renewal too, with the first two from York, Thunder Call and Red Spells Danger, locking horns again. Both earned the ‘Horse In Focus’ flag for their efforts, with Tim Easterby’s Red Spells Danger keeping on to be beaten half a length in his bid to complete a hat-trick.
But Thunder Call is a progressive sprinter for William Haggas and was making his handicap debut at York after just three prior runs. He was an impressive six-length winner of a maiden at Kempton on his reappearance in May and improved again at York, leading two furlongs out and keeping on well. Closely related to the same connections’ Craven winner and 2000 Guineas third Skardu, Thunder Call has a bit more pace than that colt, but this stiffer six furlongs should suit him even better, and with further improvement to come he can confirm superiority over Red Spells Danger.
Princess of Wales’s a graveyard for favourites
Favourites have a poor recent record in the Princess of Wales’s Stakes (15:35) with Yibir, joint-favourite in 2022, the only one of the market leaders to oblige in the last ten renewals. Among the odds-on shots turned over in that period are former Derby winners Masar and Adayar, both trained by Charlie Appleby, though in addition to Yibir, Godolphin’s main trainer has also won the race since 2016 with Hawkbill and El Cordobes who was successful last year.
Appleby relies on last year’s third Arabian Crown and prolific winner Rebel’s Romance this time, the latter the winner of five races in four different countries alone in 2025 and runner-up in the Breeders’ Cup Turf which he was bidding to win for a third time. Rebel’s Romance had been due to take on Calandagan in the Dubai Sheema Classic in March, another race he’d won before, but had to miss that contest so returns here after an absence since the previous month when winning the Dubai City of Gold.
Rebel’s Romance has been installed as favourite but he’s conceding weight all round in another trappy edition of this race and looks worth taking on with Karl Burke’s John Porter Stakes winner Convergent who heads the Timeform weight-adjusted ratings. The winner of five of his nine starts and narrowly beaten in the German Derby this time last year, Convergent overcame major trouble in running to make a successful reappearance at Newbury and looked on the way to the highest level. While he finished well beaten in the Coronation Cup last time, both Calandagan and Illinois have bounced back from similar no-shows in the same race, and he has solid claims back down in grade and on firmer ground.
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