We’re a little trapped between major festivals at the moment, but as always there is still lots to talk about in horse racing. Trainers have been fined, jockeys have had licence conditions placed on them, but we’re interested in the horses themselves.
July Festival Fallout
The headline regarding Newmarket’s July Festival is that Charlie Appleby is back. Then again, did he ever go away? Royal Ascot seems not to be his bag these days, and his Guineas winners Ruling Court and Notable Speech are proving to be frustrating.
He did manage an incredible seven winners over the three days as well as several places. He landed the Group 1 Falmouth Stakes with Cinderella’s Dream and also gave us a few to watch closely over the coming weeks.
Charlie Appleby’s July Festival 2025 Winners
| Date | Race | Winner (Odds) | Winnings |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10th July | Princess Of Wales’s Stakes | El Cordobes (7/2) | £70,887.50 |
| 10th July | Maiden Fillies’ Stakes | Crimson Rose (7/2) | £20,616 |
| 10th July | Sir Henry Cecil Stakes | Opera Ballo (11/8) | £31,190.50 |
| 11th July | bet365 Handicap | King’s Charter (9/4) | £51,540 |
| 11th July | Falmouth Stakes | Cinderella’s Dream (5/2) | £155,952.50 |
| 11th July | Weatherbys Maiden Stakes | Distant Storm (5/6) | £12,885 |
| 11th July | Superlative Stakes | Saba Desert (6/1) | £56,710 |
Opera Ballo, tentatively thought of as a Guineas horse in the spring, won the Sir Henry Cecil Stakes in very taking style on day one. He’ll be winning a Group 1 very soon.
Juvenile Distant Storm took down a maiden often won by a high-class type, coming clear with a smart one of Aidan O’Brien’s. He may yet end up in the National Stakes at the Curragh.
On the final day, Appleby’s Saba Desert won a messy Superlative Stakes, but he got the result fair and square. He’s already high in the market for the 2000 Guineas.
Other to shine but with future races in mind include Scandinavia (Aidan O’Brien), Orion’s Belt (Richard Hannon), More Thunder (William Haggas) and Fifth Column (John & Thady Gosden).
A double on the day for Ryan Moore 🙌
FIFTH COLUMN wins the Bet365 Mile Handicap 🔵 @godolphin pic.twitter.com/sFAUftEUSu
— ITV Racing (@itvracing) July 12, 2025
Fifth Column was winning a very hot handicap over the mile. He’ll surely go in again.
More Season-Defining Events on the Horizon
The Group 1 action this weekend likely won’t tell us much. Minnie Hauk is long odds-on to win the Irish Oaks, and the competition is once again particularly sparse. The Glasgow Stakes and a few other races may be informative, but we’ve to wait just a little longer for real top-class action to come back.
The King George is coming up next weekend. Calandagan and Jan Brueghel are locked at the top of the betting ahead of Kalpana. Rebel’s Romance is rock-solid and while at least two others have to run below their best for him to win, he is a solid each-way proposition.
July 29 – August 2 are the dates for Glorious Goodwood. More championship races take place there, most notably the Sussex Stakes featuring Field Of Gold. He could yet reach ratings not seen since Baaeed and could perhaps even prove to be the best since Frankel.
Later in August, the Ebor Festival brings us even higher levels of competition. Field Of Gold could step up in trip, and if our luck is in the top three rated horses in the world could conceivably all clash should Ombudsman and Delacroix take their chances.
Who Are the Divisional Leaders?
The Flat season is shaping up and settling down, so who’s on top in each section?
Well, those sections sometimes overlap. The juvenile colts are led by Albert Einstein, Italy and Saba Desert so far, but look out for Treanmor who didn’t fire at Ascot but is very highly thought of.
Venetian Sun is probably the top juvenile filly so far, but she only just got there at Newmarket, and you’d back something to come out of the pack in later summer, early autumn to usurp her.
Royal Ascot winner Lazzat is likely the best sprinter right now. That could have all changed had the classy Notable Speech done better in the July Cup, but last year’s 2000 Guineas winner is proving difficult to win with.
He is heading for the newly minted Group 1 City of York Stakes, and that seven-furlong category really is out on its own. If he gets his head straight then Notable Speech is likely the best of them, not far ahead of stablemate Shadow Of Light.
Audience can’t be ruled out, while Cosmic Year is going over a mile at Goodwood but is due to step back at York.
The three-year-olds and older horses have merged now, so there’s no point in separating them over a mile or over middle distances. Field Of Gold is way out in front over a mile, with Rosallion, Henri Matisse, Lead Artist and Dancing Gemini arguably much of a muchness.
Field Of Gold may well step up to a mile and a quarter after the Sussex. There, he’d be close to but not necessarily ahead of Ombudsman and Delacroix in that category with Calandagan not far behind.
Ruling Court will appreciate a trip, while Jan Brueghel is solid but wants the mile and a half and perhaps even further. The likes of Almaqam, Rebel’s Romance and Los Angeles will all make their presence felt but will need an opportunity to open up.
The middle-distance fillies obviously get weight against the males. Kalpana and See The Fire are high-class, the former going for the Arc as is Estrange who has improvement to find. Three-year-olds Whirl, Minnie Hauk and Desert Flower will sort themselves out over the coming months, while Cinderella’s Dream will be interesting over ten furlongs.
As for the stayers, Gold Cup winner Trawlerman is out on top. We won’t see him too often though, with Illinois solid in the division and French Master improving plenty.