The 2025 flat season continues into July, with Newmarket racecourse hosting another one of its prestigious meetings – the July Festival.
Seven Group contests – including two Group Ones – are amongst the 21 races scheduled to take place over the course of the three-day meeting.
Hosted on Newmarket’s July Course, the festival differs from the Craven meeting and the Guineas meeting – both ran on the Rowley Mile.
Over 35,000 people are expected to attend the meeting, each hoping to see racing elite from the UK, Ireland and the continent battle for prize money nearing £2m.
Here is everything you need to know, as Suffolk draws the eyes of the racing world in two days’ time.
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When is the July Festival?
The Group Three Bahrain Trophy Stakes will ‘raise the curtain’ on three days of fantastic racing action.
Due off at 1:50pm, on Thursday, July 10, it kicks off a card featuring two Group Two races – notably the Princess Of Wales’s Stakes, at 3:35pm.
Day two of the meeting is all about the Tattersalls Falmouth Stakes, a Group One contest for fillies and mares – it is due off at 3:35pm.
The festival culminates with the running of the Trust A Trader Handicap, 5:10pm, on Saturday, July 12.
It closes the meeting, as well as the card on ‘July Cup Day’ where the feature race is its namesake – the (Group One) July Cup.
It is the penultimate race of the festival, due off at 4:35pm, following the running of the (Group Two) Superlative Stakes – due to run at 4:00pm.
Trainers to watch
After taking a ‘clean sweep’ of feature events across the UK and Ireland, notably at Chester and Epsom, it seemed like Aidan O’Brien could do no wrong.
However, he went home without a – Royal Ascot – Group One winner for the first time in over two decades, though he made amends by winning the Eclipse Stakes – at Sandown – last week.
Delacroix got up in the final strides to deny the Godolphin-owned favourite Ombudsman, adding to his trainer’s dominance in feature races this season.
He remains a trainer to watch at any race in which he is involved, especially when renowned, first-choice jockey Ryan Moore is in the saddle.
The pair made it 150 Group One winners together, when Moore rode O’Brien’s Whirl to victory in the Pretty Polly Stakes, at the Curragh‘s Irish Derby Festival.
Another trainer to watch is Andrew Balding, who is in fine-form at present.
He boasts a win percentage of 32% over the last two weeks, including three winners at the Cora-Eclipse festival.
Balding trails both O’Brien and father/son joint-trainers John and Thady Gosden – who will be hoping to avenge Ombudsman’s defeat in the Eclipse.
The Gosdens enjoyed a royal ascot to remember, taking victory in three Group Ones.
It added to their victories in the Irish 2000 Guineas and the Lockinge Stakes, both with the juddmonte-owned star Field Of Gold.
Charlie Appleby is fourth in the championship standings, but had to wait all week for his, singular, Royal Ascot victor.
He will arrive at Newmarket hoping to add to his two Classic victories, at this course (Rowley Mile), earlier in the season.
Other trainers to watch include Roger Varian – whose last 12 runners have birthed five winners and six places – and William Haggas, who has seen 16 of his last 22 runners place – five of which won.
Jockeys to watch
In a world filled with controversy, big-named jockeys are no different.
Moore is an obvious starting point in terms of jockeys to watch, given his plethora of prestigious race wins across the world, though his ride on Delacroix divided opinion.
Some say that the horse got him ouot of trouble, others say it was a gutsy performance from the jockey but nevertheless, when Moore and O’brien combine – the pair are a deadly duo.
The Englishman tops neither the British or Irish standings, but his dominance in feature races are evident in the prize money that he has accumulated – just under 1m euros less than Irish table-topper Colin Keane.
Keane himself has seen himself come under scrutiny last week, when he was adjudged to have used his whip once more than the rules state, in his winning-ride on Windlord, at Sandown.
His availability is yet to be determined for this festival, though it is expected that he will receive a 14-day ban.
Four-time Champion jockey Oisin Murphy leads the British standings, but is another Irishman surrounded by controversy.
In the past week, he has seen himself charged with drink driving and banned from driving for 20 months.
He is currently operating at a 24% strike rate and gives a lead to William Buick in the championship.
Buick was denied his second group one victory, on-board ombudsman, in the Eclipse, after he rode him to victory in the Prince Of Wales’s Stakes – at Royal Ascot.
The Godolphin-retained rider will arrive looking to add to his two classic victories this season – in the 2000 and 1000 Guineas.
Other jockeys to watch include all-time leading female jockey Hollie Doyle, who holds a 20% win record from her last 15 rides and Paul Mulrennan, who has won five of his last 26 rides.
How to watch the July Festival on TV?
ITV will broadcast 13 races across the three days, live and for free, whilst Racing TV (channel 424) subscribers can tune into their coverage for every race live.
By Callum Close
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