Tracking the Horses – Our Weekly Look at Horse Racing

Welcome back to our weekly column of “Tracking the Horses”. Here we take a look at some of the best horse racing events around the world, focusing on the UK and Ireland. “Tracking the Horses” will give a quick recap of what has happened in some of the biggest UK horse racing over the past week.

Tracking the Horses

We will also look at some of the biggest & latest news to impact horse racing. With plenty of huge races coming up over the summer calendar in the UK, “Tracking the Horses” will be previewing these. And yes, that will include picks!

Below, we recap racing action from Sandown Park last week and look at the biggest recent news that could drastically impact racing in Ireland. We also had some great viewing on the first day of the Boodles July Festival at Newmarket racecourse. Finally, we break down the big feature race of the weekend in the July Cup at Newmarket on Saturday.

Last Week’s Recap

Last week we saw some fantastic action from Sandown Park as Paddington won the Coral Eclipse. Coral-Eclipse day at Sandown Park saw a plethora of fantastic Group 1 races. Check out our first “Tracking the Horses” article here. 

Paddington is certainly a colt to look out for in the coming months and could perform strongly in the Qatar Sussex Stakes at Goodwood Festival on August, 2. 

Jockeys Tom Marquand and Ryan Moore also impressed at Sandown Park and both were able to ride two winners each last Saturday on Coral-Eclipse day. 

Latest News According to Tracking the Horses

Irish racing could lose media rights for UK racing due to the latest Gambling Regulation Bill. The bill could force Racing TV & Sky Sports Racing to halt broadcasting in Ireland as a result of advertising bans. 

With a proposed new watershed that is set to suspend advertising for gambling during the daytime, it would drastically limit the financial revenues for both Racing TV and Sky Sports Racing. As a result, both companies could pull their broadcasting in Ireland since they deem it to be “economically unviable.”

It certainly seems crazy to think that this would be happening in a sport that is underpinned by gambling. People in Ireland could now be set to miss out on some of the best racing on offer. This could also cause sizable impacts on the sport as a whole. Stay tuned with “Tracking the Horses” for the latest updates!

Tracking the Horses – Newmarket Racecourse

“Tracking the Horses” will focus on the feature racing from Newmarket racing this week in the UK. Find out more about Newmarket Racecourse below. 

What is Newmarket Racecourse? 

Newmarket racecourse is home to British Thoroughbred horse racing based in Suffolk, England. It is known for hosting some of the classic British races, including the 1000 and 2000 Guineas in Flat racing. 

The two racecourses –  the Rowley Mile and the July Course – are home to some of the most top-class Flat racing in the world. The town of Newmarket itself has a pedigree and history of Thoroughbred horse racing. The racecourse was founded in the mid-17th century and King Charles II frequently attended races at Newmarket.

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What is The Boodles July Festival? 

The Boodles July Festival showcases world class racing on Newmarket’s July Course with fine races on display from Thursday to Saturday. The schedule includes plenty of Group racing, with the highlight being the Pertemps Network July Cup on July Cup Day on the Saturday. 

What’s Happening at Newmarket? 

We have some fantastic high-class racing from Newmarket racecourse this week. That includes the big feature race on Saturday in the Pertemps Network July Cup. The race is one of the premier Group 1 races of the year full of elite sprinters and is worth £628,500. However, “Tracking the Horses” will first take a look at what happened on day one of the Boodles July Festival. 

Thursday at Newmarket 

Thursday at Newmarket saw Group 2, Group 3 and Handicap races on show to kick off the  Boodles July Festival. “Tracking the Horses” will now recap the opening day. 

The opening race at the Boodles July Festival at Newmarket saw 9-2 Castle Way, trained by Charlie Appleby, win the 13:50 Group 3 Bahrain Trophy Stakes to beat out favourite Tower of London. 

In the 14:25 Group 2 July Stakes, Purosangue drifted to 7-2 before the race as Malc overtook the two-year-old as 10-3 favourite. Purosangue led the way for the first three furlongs but ran out of steam as 16-1 Jasour ended up as winner, stepping up the gears down the outside. 

Great Drama in the Handicap

What a magnificent race we had in the 15:00 bet365 Handicap Class 2 race! Quinault started as the 4-1 favourite after going unbeaten in the last five consecutive handicaps. The six furlong handicap race certainly suited the Stuart Williams trained horse. 

The three-year-old had a history of winning over the same distance. He enjoyed the good to firm ground too and was able to beat out Washington Heights and Mill Stream at York in the last race. It was a fantastic race this time around as well. Mill Stream pushed Quinault all the way for a photo finish but it was the favourite who just about edged the win for his sixth straight triumph. 

Thursday Newmarket Feature Race Upset 

The feature race of the day saw just four runners compete in the 15:35 Princess of Wales’s Stakes. Adayar was the clear 1-3 favourite and the second Charlie Appleby trained horse in the race. However, we saw a big upset as four-year-old Israr was a 7-2 winner to secure the victory for trainers John and Thady Gosen. 

Tracking the Horses – The July Cup Feature Race

Now it’s time to move onto our preview for “Tracking the Horses” this week. Below we will take a look at the Group 1 July Cup feature race.

Shaquille vs Little Big Bear in the Group 1 Pertemps Network July Cup

Shaquille: The three-year-old has recorded the victory in six of seven starts. The Julie Camacho trained horse beat Little Big Bear in the Commonwealth Cup at the end of last month at Royal Ascot and is now set to go head-to-head once again here with Big Little Bear.

Three out of the last ten July Cup winners have seen success at the Commonwealth Cup and Shaquille is the clear favourite priced at 2-1 heading into the race. 

Khaadem: The seven-year-old was an 80-1 triumph at Group 1 Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot and will now race in the July Cup here. Since 2015, 50% of July Cup winners have been three-years-old. That gives the nod to Shaquille once more. 

Khaadem is good on fast ground so the course will need to stay dry before the race, however, there are showers forecasted at Newmarket in the couple of days leading up to the race. 

The Charles Hills trained horse is a previous course and distance winner and so should be trusted on the track after finishing fourth in the same race three years ago. Priced at 10-1, he could be a good each way bet. 

Best Bet: Shaquille (2-1) ((THIS PICK HIT!!!))