Five horses to watch out for at Newmarket's July Festival

There are set to be plenty of stars on show at Newmarket this week, including a few that were forced to bypass Royal Ascot due to the ground conditions changing ahead of the final two days.

At the time of writing, the ground is good to firm on the July course, and although there is some rain forecast, it doesn’t look like it will change the going dramatically, and will probably just save Newmarket the job of watering!

The Darley July Cup is the feature event over the three days, and Racing TV is the only place to watch every race live.

The five below all look to hold a strong chance, and hopefully we can find a winner or two. Best of luck!

When: 4.10pm, Thursday.

Best odds: 3-1.

A half-brother to the mighty Enable and a pedigree littered with superstars, Derab is certainly bred to be smart and the youngster looked a potential Group One performer in the making when barely breaking sweat to win a Novice Stakes at Newmarket in May.

He clocked a fast time on that occasion, too, and the form of his seasonal debut effort, when second to Snow Lantern, looks strong. He was also second to La Barrosa on his sole start as a two-year-old before suffering a setback.

Things did not exactly go to plan for John and Thady Gosden’s charge on his first attempt at the highest level in the French Derby last time out where he shaped much better than the bare result. He had a wide draw to overcome, raced keenly and was also hampered twice turning for home before eventually finishing six lengths adrift of St Mark’s Basilica.

He showed enough on that occasion to suggest he could be top class, and I believe he is. He also showed signs of greenness under pressure and I expect there’s a good deal of improvement left in him.

Baaeed has impressed on his first two starts but this is his toughest task to date plus he lacks experience, and Maximal is probably the one to beat on the form of his St James's Palace Stakes effort.

However, based upon his efforts so far, and his breeding, Derab is the one worth siding with and the Gosden’s have been operating at a 33 per cent strike-rate in the past fortnight.

When: 3.35pm, Friday.

Best odds: 5-1.

I strongly fancied Primo Bacio at Royal Ascot, but it was a wise decision by connections to withdraw her after the ground changed to soft, which would surely not have suited her given she has an electric turn of foot.

She will face rivals on Friday that had a hard race in the testing conditions at Royal Ascot, so it may be a blessing in disguise that Primo Bacio arrives here a fresh horse, and Ed Walker said his filly is “really fresh” and “looking fantastic” during a press conference hosted by The Jockey Club on Monday.

I won’t bore you again by writing in detail why I like her chances as the reasoning stays the same as before Royal Ascot, but the ground should be in her favour on Friday and I expect her to prove she is a Group One filly.

When: 3.15pm, Saturday.

Best odds: 11-4.

Dhabab looked to have a bright future when scoring on debut in a maiden at Leicester that has been won by Thunder Snow and Toormore in recent years, and the youngster produced some impressive speed figures en route to success.

It was no surprise he was backed into favourite for the Coventry Stakes next time out, and he would have undoubtedly finished closer in that contest had he not met traffic problems.

The step up to seven furlongs is sure to suit, especially as he appeared to become a shade outpaced at Royal Ascot before staying on, and finished with plenty of running left in him.

Although there will be other bright prospects in opposition, it will take a good one to defeat Dhabab who looks potentially top class on the evidence we have seen so far.

When: 3.50pm, Saturday.

Best odds: 20-1.

This four-year-old created a huge impression winning her first two starts last year, including over a mile on debut at this meeting, and Saeed bin Suroor said afterwards that he believed his filly “could be a Group One performer”.

It was disappointing that the daughter of Shamardal could not make an impact in two starts at Meydan at the beginning of this year, and gave the impression she may not have trained on.

However, she quickly bounced back on her return in Britain at Doncaster in June where she showed a good attitude to defeat the useful Beat Le Bon, who finished fifth in the Royal Hunt Cup on his next outing.

She was entitled to strip fitter for that effort and was sent off a 7-1 chance in the Kensington Palace Stakes next time out, but it is best to put a line through that run given her rider was unable to remove the blindfold when the stalls opened.

Stunning Beauty has surely not reached her full potential yet, and providing she can build on her Doncaster success – which she has been raised 3lb for – then she ought to go close.

When: 4.25pm, Saturday.

Best odds: 9-2.

Ed Walker admitted on Monday that it was a “brutal” decision to withdraw Starman from the Diamond Jubilee at Royal Ascot but, like Primo Bacio, his stable star would not have been seen to best effect in the conditions, especially as he disappointed on soft on Champions Day last year.

The Duke Of York winner was another contender that I thought would go close at Royal Ascot, and Walker was full of hope when speaking on the zoom call saying that he believes his lightly-raced four-year-old has “got the opportunity to become the sprinter of his generation”.

The selection still needs to prove he’s a Group One horse, but he had Group One performers in behind when successful at York, including Oxted, and Walker is expecting plenty of improvement from Starman following his seasonal return.

There is surely lots more to come from the son of Dutch Art, who has already shown a high level of form, and I am surprised he is available at 9-2.