Hot on the heels of Royal Ascot, the flat season show rolled on to Newmarket for the 2024 edition of the July Festival.
Commencing on Thursday, 11th of July and concluding on Saturday, 13th of July, the meeting provided a selection of quality Maiden, Handicap, and Group class action.
Falmouth Stakes winner Porta Fortuna and July Cup hero Mill Stream stole the show amongst the equine performers on the track, but here we highlight the trainers, jockeys, sires, and owners who topped the pile at the end of an enthralling three days.
Top Trainer: Charlie Appleby – 4 Wins
Simon & Ed Crisford, Jane Chapple-Hyam, and John & Thady Gosden registered doubles at the meeting, but Godolphin number one Charlie Appleby was alone at the top of the table.
Despite flying out of the starting stalls with Ancient Wisdom in the opening Group 3 Bahrain Trophy, that was as good as it got for Appleby on Day One – Aomori City coming closest to adding to that tally when third in the July Stakes.
Day Two was a tale of near misses for the Boys in Blue, With Royal Power finishing second in the bet365 Handicap and Mountain Breeze filling the same position in the Duchess Of Cambridge Stakes.
It then all came together on Day 3. Desert Flower made a hugely encouraging debut to claim the opening Maiden; First Conquest showed the benefit of the first-time headgear when getting up in the shadow of the post to land the bet365 Mile Handicap, and the unbeaten Ancient Wisdom extended his record to three wins from as many starts in the Group 2 Superlative Stakes – a race Appleby has previously won with future Group 1 stars Master Of The Seas and Native Trail. Ancient Truth earned quotes of around 14/1 for the 2025 edition of the 2000 Guineas following this performance.
Top Jockey: Oisin Murphy and William Buick – 5 Wins
The opening two days of the meeting belonged to three-time Champion Jockey Oisin Murphy, who spectacularly won five of the first ten races. Sergeant Wilko (Bet Boost At bet365 Handicap), Giavellotto (Princess Of Wales’s Stakes), and Sterling Knight (Blandford Bloodstock Handicap) produced an opening day hattrick, which Murphy backed up with a double aboard Involvement (bet365 Handicap) and Fairbanks (bet365 Trophy) on Day 2. Murphy was in fine form overall, with his wins coming for five different trainers and over trips ranging from 6f to 1m6f.
However, five wasn't quite enough to claim the outright lead. Whenever Charlie Appleby experiences a good time of things, stable jockey William Buick invariably does. Getting the leg up on the four Appleby-trained winners, Buick drew level with Murphy when producing a four-timer on the closing day, completed by the first July Cup of his career in the penultimate race of the meeting.
Whilst the duo finished level, special mention must go to Buick, with his expertly judged ride aboard Mill Stream in the July Cup taking him to the 100th Group/Grade 1 win of his career - a fine achievement by one of the finest riders in the weighing room.
Leading Sire: Dubawi – 3 Wins
With Galileo drawing a blank at the meeting, it was left to his great stallion rival to claim top honours, with the Godolphin flagbearer siring the winners of the Bahrain Trophy Stakes and bet365 Superlative Stakes for Charlie Appleby and the Trust A Trader Handicap for John & Thady Gosden.
Something in the prevailing conditions at HQ must have suited the Dubawi genes as his son Night Of Thunder also bagged a double at the fixture with Al Musmak (Edmonson Hall Solicitors Sir Henry Cecil Stakes) and Desert Flower (Rossdales British EBF Maiden Fillies’ Stakes). Havana Grey was the only other sire with more than one win.
Leading Owner: Godolphin – 4 Wins
With Appleby, Buick, and Dubawi all topping their respective lists, it will come as no surprise that Godolphin led the way among the owners.
Away from the leaders, winners were shared evenly. Godolphin aside, no owner managed more than one win at the fixture. Coolmore scored just once with Whistlejacket in the July Stakes, whilst the intriguingly named Luck Is For The Mediocre Group struck a blow for the smaller owners courtesy of Validated’s runaway win in the Federation Of Bloodstock Agents Handicap on Day 2.
Wafer Thin Profit for Favourite Backers
The market generally proved a good guide at the July Festival, with eight of the 21 favourites getting the job done – representing an above-average strike rate of 38.10%. However, that solid performance wasn’t quite enough to send jolly backers into retirement, with a £1 level stakes punt on the market leader returning a profit of 43p.
Overall, 18 of 21 winners returned a single-figure SP, and all 21 were priced at 12/1 or below. Arabian Dusk (12/1) in the Duchess Of Cambridge Stakes and First Conquest (12/1) in the bet365 Mile Handicap were the biggest-priced winners at a relatively shock-free fixture.
Paul Harrison
Falling in love with racing at a young age, Paul’s passion for sports and betting took him to Salford University, where he obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Business Economics with Gambling Studies. Having spent ten years in the employment of a leading bookmaker, Paul opted to go it alone and pursue his dream job as a freelance writer.
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