Newmarket (July) Tips: Saturday 20 June 2026

Newmarket (July) Tips: Saturday 20 June 2026

Good ground at Headquarters on a cloudy Saturday afternoon. Newmarket’s July course puts a premium on horses that travel well through a race and stay balanced on the undulations. Three races to focus on today, and there is a case for stepping away from the market leaders in at least one of them.

2:00 — JCB British EBF Novice Stakes (7f)

Selection: Al Hudaiba (8/15, Boyle Sports)

Charlie Appleby dominates this course like few other trainers anywhere in Britain. A 28% strike rate from 527 runners here is not a fluke, it is a sustained operation that knows exactly what it takes to win at the July course. Six winners from 19 runners in the past 14 days tells you the Godolphin yard is well and truly in form right now.

Al Hudaiba won on debut and the unseated rider on his second start reads as interference rather than a form blot. Zac Lloyd partners him, and at 7f on good ground this colt has every right to take a race of this nature apart. The 8/15 with Boyle Sports is short, but the combination of trainer, course record, and juvenile form makes this the most reliable race on the card. Back him to win and nothing else.

3:11 — JCB Hydrogen Handicap (6f)

Selection: Sea Cookie (9/4, Boyle Sports/Betfred | 2/1 LiveScore Bet)

Tom Clover’s 15% course strike rate at the July course puts him in the upper tier of trainers to follow here, and while he has not had winners in the past fortnight, this gelding’s profile makes this the right race to break that run. Sea Cookie comes into this on a form line reading 22-1: two seconds before a debut win. That is a straightforward, progressive profile for a three-year-old stepping into a handicap for the first time.

The handicapper has him on a mark that still looks workable given the manner of his win, and Neil Callan is a jockey who knows his way around. Good ground suits, and at 9/4 there is genuine value given how well Clover’s horses perform at this particular venue relative to expectations.

Each-way interest: Expert Agent

Stuart Williams has had a tough fortnight with zero from 22, but Expert Agent’s recent form reading 444121 screams a horse that is knocking on the door constantly. At 3/1 he is competitive for a place at worst, and if Sea Cookie gets turned over, this six-year-old has the profile to capitalise. Worth including in each-way doubles.

3:47 — JCB Handicap (1m6f)

Selection: Kuredu King Each-Way (11/2, Boyle Sports | 5/1 Betfred/LiveScore Bet)

Dougie Costello at the July course is a combination worth knowing about. His 18% course win rate and A/E of 1.37 tells you he consistently outperforms his market position here, and at 11/2 on a horse with the form reading 9151-4, that matters. Kuredu King won twice last season and returned this year with a fourth that reads more forgivably over a mile and six on a day he may not have been at peak fitness.

Donald McCain has sent out two winners from 23 attempts in the past two weeks, the yard is ticking over, and Costello riding a course where he punches above his weight is the angle here. Dojin at 13/8 is a fair favourite, and Sixpack at 15/8 makes this a genuinely open race, which is exactly where each-way money earns its keep. Back Kuredu King each-way at 11/2, two places at 1/4 odds.

Dojin merits respect. Form reading /13-11 in a five-runner field is hard to ignore, and Robert Havlin will not be wasting his time on a 1m6f handicap if the filly is not in good shape. She is the danger, but the price on offer does not represent value against a market rival like Sixpack at virtually the same odds.

Today’s NAP

Al Hudaiba — JCB British EBF Novice Stakes (2:00, Newmarket July)
Odds: 8/15 — Boyle Sports (others: 1/2 Betfred)

Charlie Appleby wins at this course at a rate no other trainer gets close to, and his yard is in sharp form with six winners from 19 runners in the past fortnight. Al Hudaiba won on debut, his second run was ended by an unseated rider rather than beaten form, and the step up to 7f on good ground looks the right move. Short price, but this is not a race to be clever about.