Newmarket (July) Tips: Saturday 18 July 2026

Newmarket (July) Tips: Saturday 18 July 2026

Good to firm ground at Headquarters today, and that suits the better-class animals that tend to dominate this sort of card. Three competitive races, a Listed contest to lead off, and a couple of handicaps where the form book needs reading carefully. Charlie Appleby’s yard continues to fire at 28% on this course and Ralph Beckett is among the most dangerous trainers at the July Course right now. With the Belgian Grand Prix kicking off at Spa tomorrow and Glorious Goodwood just ten days away, connections will be using today to tune horses up for bigger prizes. That matters for your betting, because some runners are here to run well rather than win. Back the ones who need the race, not the ones who need the prize money.

3:05 — Ric And Mary Hambro Aphrodite Fillies’ Stakes (Listed, 1m4f)

Selection: Revoir (5/2, Boyle Sports/Betfred) with Hector Crouch up

Nine runners, Listed class, and the form book points clearly at one filly. Revoir rates the highest in this field at 110, has handled today’s trip and good to firm ground before, and Ralph Beckett’s yard is operating at a sizzling 31% over the last fortnight. That is not a yard going through the motions. Hector Crouch also has strong course form at Newmarket’s July meeting, striking at 19% with an A/E of 1.21, so the booking makes sense.

The one criticism of Revoir is that she has been frustratingly placed without winning, three seconds and a third from her last five starts. Last time out she was second again. But in a nine-runner Listed field where the opposition is largely fragile or out of form, that consistency at 110 is simply too good to ignore. Persistent placers do eventually get their heads in front when the right race comes, and this looks tailored for her.

Little Dorrit at 9/1 interests as the saver. Roger Varian’s yard is running at 26% in the last two weeks and she is rated 101, second-best in the field. Her recent dips in form are a concern, but she suits this trip and ground and could easily fill the place slot at a fat price.

Orionis at 6/1 is the other player worth respecting. Rated 99, winner two starts ago, and William Haggas would not be running her in Listed company without believing she can go well on her return to form. The seventh last time out looks a blip rather than a trend. These three fill the frame in your mind, with Revoir the clear first choice.

3:42 — Lettergold Plastics Handicap Stakes (7f)

Selection: Miletus (11/4, Boyle Sports/Betfred)

Seven runners over seven furlongs, and the value call here is Miletus at 11/4. He won last time out, has run over this trip and on good to firm, and returns just 29 days later from a yard that has no obvious reason to be flagged negatively. Two runner-up finishes in his recent sequence show this horse is competing consistently at a level that could win again here.

Jumby carries the fastest speed figure in the race and Eve Johnson Houghton’s operation is flying at 26% over the last fortnight. The concern is 70 days off the track and a sequence of modest finishes before that layoff. Top weight of 140lbs does not help either. He is the benchmark on figures but I want to see him prove the return first rather than trust it blindly.

Bell Shot was third last time out and keeps himself honest, but Michael Appleby’s yard at 1 from 26 in the last fortnight is a red flag you cannot ignore at any price. Leave him alone until that yard comes back into form.

4:17 — Club 26 At Ascot Handicap Stakes (6f)

Selection: Spring Bloom Each-Way (6/1, Boyle Sports/Betfred) with David Probert

This is the most open race on the card and I am going each-way in a competitive eight-runner handicap over six furlongs. Spring Bloom at 6/1 keeps producing placed efforts without getting his head in front, three seconds in his last five including last time out. A speed figure of 83 in a race where the favourite Fenlander is rated just 68 on our figures tells you there is a misalignment here. Fenlander has won three on the bounce but those victories came in weaker company, and stepping up in grade today with John Butler’s yard in red-hot form at 6 from 14 (43%) in the last fortnight adds optimism that Spring Bloom goes close.

Westmorian holds the best official rating in the field at 84 and Oliver Stammers is the standout jockey at this course, striking at 29% with an A/E of 2.02. That jockey-course angle is significant. Grant Tuer’s yard has landed 4 from 11 in the last fortnight and Westmorian showed improvement last time out. At 7/1 he is a reasonable each-way alternative.

Expert Agent at 9/2 is second-best on ratings at 81 and was winning two starts back. The sixth last time out is the blot but Stuart Williams’s yard at 3 from 21 is ticking over. He represents the obvious market danger to Spring Bloom.

Fenlander at 11/4 is the public’s money but the form figures and ratings suggest caution. Three wins in worse races does not automatically translate here. Swerve at that price with something to prove against better competition.

Today’s NAP

Revoir — Ric And Mary Hambro Aphrodite Fillies’ Stakes (3:05, Newmarket July)
Odds: 5/2 — Boyle Sports (others: 5/2 Betfred, 5/2 LiveScore Bet)

The top-rated filly in the field at 110 on ground and a trip she handles, Revoir has Ralph Beckett’s 31% yard form behind her and Hector Crouch in the saddle with an A/E of 1.21 at this course. Three placings from her last five starts prove she is bang in form. Listed races can fall to consistent performers when the opposition has question marks, and every main rival here carries either an absence, a form dip, or a lower rating. This is a win bet, not a saver.