Newmarket July Festival 2022 Day 3 and the Darley July Cup

Newmarket Racecourse

A very famous and popular racecourse, Newmarket enjoys the British summer more than most other venues with its location in Suffolk, England. The racecourse offers two separate courses, the Rowley Mile Course and the Newmarket July Course, the latter of which is used for the July Festival.

Nearby Newmarket there are masses of equestrian related activities showing just how popular the sport is in this part of England, as it is often referred to as the headquarters of British Horse Racing. You will find the National Horse Museum, many high-quality stables and training facilities, the National Stud and even a specialised equine hospital.

Throughout the flat racing season, the racecourse will host 9 of the 36 seasonal Group One races. During the Newmarket July Festival there are some top two-year-old races including the St Leger trial, and the competitive Bunbury Cup. The feature races of the July festival are the Group One Tattersalls Falmouth Stakes and the Darley July Cup. Earlier in the flat racing season the 1,000 and 2,000 guineas are raced on the Rowley Mile circuit.

The Darley July Cup Newmarket July Festival Day 3

The final day of the Newmarket July Festival sees the featured race, the Darley July Cup under starters’ orders at 16:25 Saturday 9 July. The six-furlong (1,207m) sprint race open to three-year-olds and above is one of the most exciting and prestigious in the calendar and has international appeal. Often the winner is crowned the champion sprinter of Europe with first place taking home approximately £300,000 of the total purse of around £500,000.

The race dates all the way back to 1876 where a colt named Springfield and bred by Queen Victoria won in successive years. When classification was introduced in 1971 the race was graded as a Group Two race but it was soon upgraded to a Group One race in 1978.

It’s not often you can name a horse that has won a high quality flat or sprint race on three occasions, however, with the July Cup one such horse has achieved this feat! Between 1902 and 1904 Sunridge stormed home to win the July Cup for three successive years. Since then, no horse has managed to achieve this and the record has remained for nearly 120 years. Two-time winners include Abernant in 1949 and 1950, and Right Boy in 1958 and 1959. In 1938 a seven-year-old horse known as Shalfleet won and more recently in 2006, Les Arcs took first place as a six-year-old.

Oh Lester, Lester, Lester! Lester Piggott tops so many races as a leading jockey and there is no change with the July Cup, as he romped home on no fewer than 10 occasions. His first win launched a four-year winning streak with Vigo in 1957, Right Boy in 1958 and 1959 and Tin Whistle in 1960. Thereafter his wins include riding Thatch in 1973, Saritamer 1974, Solinus 1978, Thatching 1979, Moorestyle 1980 and Mr Brooks in 1992.

When it comes to leading trainers there are three that have won the July Cup on five occasions. The first to do so was Charles Morton and yes, Sunridge was the horse that set him on his way in 1903 and 1904. He trained another horse to a double in 1912 and 1913 with Spanish Prince leading the way. His final win created a hat-trick in 1914 when Golden Sun won his fifth race as trainer. Vincent O’Brien the Irish trainer was voted in 2003 as the greatest influence in horse racing history in a worldwide poll. He was also voted in a poll as the greatest ever trainer of national hunt and flat racehorses. He clearly had a good relationship with Lester Piggott as he was the jockey for four of Vincent O’Brien’s wins as a trainer. Aidan O’Brien is no relation to Vincent however, he is the third to have trained five winners. Still in competition Aidan O’Brien has the opportunity to become the most successful trainer of all time following his winning ways that started in 1999 with Stravinsky. His last win was in 2019 when he trained Ten Sovereigns to victory.

Clearly Sunridge is a horse you need to know when it comes to records in the July Cup and that team was complemented by trainer, Charles Morton. Although Lester Piggott did not have the chance to ride this horse, he was owned by Jack Joel and together with Charles Morton they set up a partnership that created their record breaking five wins.

Fun Facts and Things to Consider for the 2022 Newmarket July Festival and the Darley July Cup

The Darley July Cup has an international appeal for entries, however, British and Irish horses have dominated over the last 20 starts with only one French winner. Marchand d’ Or won the July Cup in 2008 and was the first horse ever to win three consecutive runs of a French Group One race when winning the Maurice de Gheest.

Being a joint all-time leading trainer in the July Cup, Aidan O’Brien will be seeking to become the all-time winning trainer in 2022. In the last 20 starts he is also the most successful trainer with three wins to his credit. It may be worth looking to see if he has runners this year in the July Cup. Two trainers that have had success on two occasions in the last 20 starts are Clive Cox and Hughie Morrison.

Several jockeys have two wins in the last 20 starts with Ryan Moore the most recent winner in 2018 and 2019. The other jockeys with two wins include Paul Hanagan, Adam Kirby and JF Egan.

Over the past 20 races 5 winners were classed as favourite at the beginning of the race. The longest odds for a winner in 2005 was Pastoral Pursuits, ridden by JF Egan and trained by Hughie Morrison.

If you are interested in the Darley July Cup then remember six other races take place at Newmarket Festival 9 July 2022, including the Superlative Stakes, a Group Two race for two-year-olds over seven furlongs. There is also the Bunbury Cup, one of the big betting races of the week which is a hotly contested handicap over seven furlongs. The horses participating on the race cards are not yet announced for the 2022 Newmarket July Festival and you may consider paying attention to races leading up to the event including the King’s Stand Stakes, Diamond Jubilee Stakes and the Commonwealth Cup.

Betting on horses can be unpredictable as highlighted above that only five pre-race favourites won the July Cup in the last 20 starts. However, with the wide range of markets available at mr.play, you will be able to back those you wish to in many different ways. However, we are committed to responsible gambling and we encourage anyone who may feel in need of support to turn to organisations such as gambleaware.co.uk.