Headlines

Impressive July Festival winner Nostrum is going to bypass a meeting with Paddington in the Sussex Stakes at Glorious Goodwood and instead go to France for the Prix Jacques le Marois.

There were nine horses declared for the Irish Oaks at the Curragh on Saturday, with Aidan O’Brien’s duo Warm Heart and Savethelastdance the favourites. Ryan Moore has a decision to make, but I can see him siding with STLD.

Another blow for British Racing as Qatar Racing’s Royal Ascot second Zoology is to leave James Ferguson after the operation sold a half-share in the three-year-old to Ciaron Maher in Australia. A sign of things to come from Qatar Racing perhaps? Watch that closely…

Frankie Dettori is set to return at Newbury on Saturday after missing his last Eclipse and July Cup. His standout ride on the card will be 5/1 chance Lezoo in the G3 Hackwood Stakes.

Kyprios is back in training and O’Brien is targeting the Irish St Leger on day two of the Irish Champions Festival at the Curragh in September.

One to watch

I didn’t have the best of luck in this section last week, but it’s doing alright so far this week with Bremen and Graceful Thunder keeping it ticking over with wins on Monday and Tuesday. I’ve got two more juveniles today.

The first is Willolarupi at 5/4 in the 15:22 at Catterick. He has a couple of rivals behind him in the betting with much more experience, but Bellarchi and Lieutenant Rascal’s combined form is 0-10. The Declan Carroll horse showed promise on debut at Musselburgh a fortnight ago and looks open to further progress.

The other is Bazball (6/5) in the opener at Bath. She’s had plenty of opportunities to get off the mark, but last week’s close second at Catterick is perhaps a sign that the penny is dropping and she’s the most experienced in today’s field. Could get off the mark today and what a day to pick with the Ashes restarting at Old Trafford.

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Newsletter exclusive tips

The newsletter exclusive double landed yesterday and it was good to see a few people on it. Let’s hope we can do something similar today.

The first pick is Rock On Tommy at 11/4 in the opener at Uttoxeter. He won over C&D last week and could defy a penalty to strike again in this rather uncompetitive-looking handicap hurdle.

My other pick is La Forza in the Amateur Jockeys’ Handicap at 14:52. He’s lightly raced for a 5YO, but he put on a career-best at Bath when second as he reappeared for the first time since August 2021 in May and he could finally get off the mark for Marcus Tregoning today. It’s just a second-ever ride for his daughter Alice, who won first time out at Wolverhampton two days ago.

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This isn’t exactly a tip per se, but Unless is a horse I’ve had an eye on since the start of the season. I was watching her closely and finally napped her when she got off the mark at Naas after three seconds in May and advised her EW at 14/1 when she placed in the Sandringham at Royal Ascot.

Anyway, to the point. She’s fancied at 6/1 today in the 18:20 at Killarney and is Aidan’s only runner at the festival this evening. She’s well behind the more fancied horses on ratings, but her win and Ascot performance is a sign that she could be improving and there’s every chance she runs a good race today.