A midsummer showpiece of flat racing, the Group 1 July Cup is the highlight of Newmarket’s July meeting, run over the course of the same name. It takes place over a rapid 6f, and is open to all sprinters aged three or older. Though two sprints at Royal Ascot are open to the same age groups, the emergence of the Commonwealth Cup means this is often the first clash for the three-year-olds against their elders in this division. This is how the July Cup odds are shaping up in 2026.

2026 July Cup Odds

16:35 Newmarket (July)

Good To Firm

Al Basti Equiworld, Dubai July Cup Stakes (Group 1)

• Flat Turf
• Turf
• 0m 6f 0y
• Class 1
• 11 runners
• Win time: 1m 9s

• First Prize: £453,680

1st

3 (10)

Comanche Brave

J: Billy Loughnane

T: Donnacha Aidan O’Brien

11/1 (Won)

• Win: £12.65
• Place: £3.15

2nd

11 (9)

Venetian Sun

J: Clifford Lee

T: K R Burke

6/1

• Place: £2.55

OUR TIP

3rd

7 (8)

2 tips

Satono Reve

J: Christophe-Patrice Lemaire

T: Noriyuki Hori

2/1F

• Place: £1.25

4th

8 (6)

1 tip

Coppull

J: Saffie Osborne

T: Clive Cox

28/1

5th

9 (1)

3 tips

Division

J: James Doyle

T: William Haggas

11/1

6th

5 (5)

Prince Of India

J: Pat Dobbs

T: Marco Botti

80/1

7th

10 (7)

6 tips

Mission Central

J: Ryan Moore

T: A P O’Brien

13/2

8th

4 (11)

1 tip

Double Rush

J: Oisin Murphy

T: Andrew Balding

8/1

9th

1 (4)

2 tips

Almeraq

J: Tom Marquand

T: William Haggas

11/2

10th

2 (2)

Big Mojo

J: William Buick

T: Michael Appleby

12/1

11th

6 (3)

Quinault

J: Marco Ghiani

T: Stuart Williams

66/1

+o+e Betting Returns

	Payout
Exacta	£93.60
Straight Forecast	£75.34
Tricast	£182.14
Trifecta	£286.90

Selections

RP RATINGS:

Mission Central

The Times:

Division

NEWMARKET:

Almeraq

SPOTLIGHT:

Satono Reve

LAMBOURN:

Coppull

Daily Mail:

Double Rush

Telegraph:

Division

The Sun:

Division

TOPSPEED:

Mission Central

POSTDATA:

Mission Central

D Express:

Mission Central

Daily Mirror:

Mission Central

Daily Record:

Mission Central

The Star:

Almeraq

The Guardian:

Satono Reve

Betting Strategies for the July Cup

You do not have to rely upon the win only market when betting on the July Cup. Even with the small field in 2023, you would still have got three places on each-way terms from the eight runners, so consider these strategies when placing a bet on the race.

Outright Winner

Finding the outright winner of a race remains the most satisfying search for any punter. Doing so with Shaquille was straightforward enough as one of the joint favouirtes, but both Alcohol Free and Mill Stream have won at double-figure odds in the last four seasons.

Each Way

Therefore, both Alcohol Free and Mill Stream would have returned a healthy each-way profit too at such big prices. Equally, the horse who chased home Mill Stream a year ago, Swingalong, was second at 25/1, ensuring that had you backed him each way with the same stake as Mill Stream, you would only have made a marginally smaller profit than having wagered on the winner.

Draw Biases

The July Course is very susceptible to draw biases, but these do not often play out until the day itself, as it is a track that drains well and generally avoids soft going. As such, it often pays to be on the side of the track that has not been galloped on as much earlier in the week of the July meeting, but sometimes it has as much to do with where the pace is in the race.

July Cup Odds of Past 10 Winners

The July Cup has gone through peaks and troughs within the last decade alone in terms of successful favourites. Since 2014, the race has had an exceptional run of winning favourites to begin with, followed by a six-year lull until Shaquille returned a 5/2J winning SP in 2023.