Newmarket Tips: Thursday 9 July 2026

Newmarket Tips: Thursday 9 July 2026

Newmarket’s July course serves up a sharp card on a sunny afternoon with Good To Firm ground underfoot, ideal conditions for horses with proven form on quick surfaces. Three Pattern races headline proceedings, with Charlie Appleby’s yard the dominant training force on the Rowley Mile, and William Buick again holding the key book of rides. Three races, three angles worth backing.

1:50 Bahrain Trophy Stakes (Group 3, 1m5f)

Selection: Del Maro (6/4, Boyle Sports)

This is straightforward if you follow the form. Del Maro heads the field on figures, the trip and Good To Firm going are both already proven to suit, and he arrives from a 22-day freshener that looks well-timed. Two seconds and a win in his last five runs paint the picture of a consistent colt who competes at this level comfortably.

Charlie Appleby wins 28% of his Newmarket races and carries an A/E ratio of 1.01, meaning his runners deliver exactly what the market expects. William Buick, 23% here with an A/E of 0.98, is the man in the plate. When Appleby and Buick combine at Headquarters with a horse proven on the surface and trip, you take the price without fuss.

Galiyan at 10/3 is the main danger for Andrew Balding, who has his yard firing at 11/49 in the last 14 days, but a sixth when last seen 22 days ago needs explaining before he can be trusted at odds-on. Point Of Law’s modest speed figure is the issue at 3/1. Del Maro is a confident play at the 6/4 available.

2:25 Kingdom Of Bahrain July Stakes (Group 2, 6f)

Selection: Hickory Lad Each-Way (15/2, Boyle Sports)

Inner City Blues at 10/11 is a one-run wonder who could be anything, and Appleby juveniles on debut form often go very short. The issue is the unknown. You simply cannot trust a colt on one piece of form to beat horses who have shown you their hand multiple times.

Hickory Lad is a colt who wins and runs second alternately through his four outings, which means he won last time out and the pattern says he runs second next. That is not how to bet horses, of course, but what the form genuinely tells you is that he is consistent, competitive, and arrived at this grade off a winning effort. Sam James carries a remarkable 21% strike rate at Newmarket with an A/E of 1.52, the highest on the course among the regular jockeys, which represents real added value at the prices.

Phillip Makin’s yard has only had five runners in the last 14 days, a small sample, but the colt is fit from a 34-day break and the six furlongs is proven. At 15/2 each-way in a four-runner Group 2, the place terms of 2 places at 1/4 odds give you excellent cover. Adaay Of Scarlett is likely the marginal market leader on figures, but the value case sits firmly with Hickory Lad at the prices available.

3:35 Princess Of Wales’s Stakes (Group 2, 1m4f)

Selection: Tenability (8/1, Boyle Sports)

Rebel’s Romance at 6/5 is the obvious selection and probably wins, but at those odds you are gambling money to win very little for a horse who has been off 131 days. A long winter break at eight years old in a horse who has to be spot-on first time out is a risk the short price does not adequately reward.

Tenability is the value proposition. Three wins from his last five starts, including a victory on his most recent outing, make him a horse in form. The distance and Good To Firm going are both proven. William Haggas has had 12 winners from 56 runners in the past 14 days, a yard very much operating from a position of strength. The addition of a first-time tongue-tie is worth noting as a trainer signal that connections believe there is more to unlock.

The query around his mark is noted, but in a five-runner Group 2 with a potentially ring-rusty favourite at skinny odds, 8/1 for an in-form horse with proven conditions and a fit preparation is a price worth taking. Convergent at 2/1 is a genuine danger after three wins in his last five, but a below-par fifth last time out 33 days ago leaves a question mark. Tenability is the one at the price.

Today’s NAP

Del Maro — Bahrain Trophy Stakes (1:50, Newmarket)
Odds: 6/4 — Boyle Sports (others: 6/4 Betfred, 6/4 LiveScore Bet)

The standout bet of the day at a workable price. Del Maro heads the field on figures, has the trip and Good To Firm going proven to suit, and arrives fit from a 22-day break. The Appleby and Buick combination at Newmarket is one of the most reliable angles in British racing, and this colt’s consistent record of wins and placed efforts at this level makes him the selection you back with confidence rather than hope.