Moët & Chandon July Festival Newmarket Day Two Best Bets & Grand Prix de Paris at Saint-Cloud

Not a great start to the Moët & Chandon July Festival HQ Newmarket for me Thursday but I am going up nice and early for day two as it is Gentleman’s Day and I will be up and about silly early in the morning. 

The Group 2 Duchess of Cambridge Stakes over six furlongs for two-year-olds fillies and has produced several QIPCO 1,000 Guineas winners the following season so it’s definitely worth keeping a close eye on this field. Nyaleti has been favourite in the build-up off the back of her second in the Listed Chesham at Royal Ascot. The winner September looks a very good prospect and the Johnston filly lost nothing in defeat over the seven furlongs that day. The drop back to six should suit this front runner. You can get 9-4. Clemmie has been shortening ever since she won at the Curragh but that may not have been the strongest Group Three and I have a feeling softer underfoot conditions would help her.

The older fillies are out for the Group 1 Falmouth Stakes over the mile. Triple G Dirty Dozen member Wuheida makes her much anticipated seasonal bow – she was of course my ante-post punt for the Oaks at 14-1 but never made it after sustaining a stress fracture to her right hind leg. Two from two at two she was a winner on debut at HQ before going on the win the Group One Prix Marcel Boussac in October when really catching my eye and Charlie Appleby clearly likes her. I still think a little further will be her ideal trip but she could be good enough to win this before looking at even bigger targets towards the back end of the season. Talking in the week Appleby said "She went to Chelmsford City for a gallop the other day and pleased us there and she put in a nice piece of work on Saturday. The most important thing is she has come out of that fit and well. I was delighted with what she did at two and always felt she would be better at three. She really was pleasing us in the spring. We are taking on race-hardened fillies, but this is a good starting point. We are confident she will run a big race and it will be something to build on. If she is the filly we think she is, she should be very competitive regardless of needing it a bit."  I have taken a chance at 7-2. Roly Poly, who must be sick of the sight of stable mate Winter, will win a race like this sooner rather than later and is very much feared.

Across the Channel they have the Group One Juddmonte Grand Prix de Paris at Saint-Cloud due off at 7.25. Aidan O'Brien has sent over Orderofthegarter and Ryan Moore will be making the trip to ride. I backed him for the Poule d'Essai des Poulains and Prix du Jockey Club and yes I am on again this evening and took the 10-1 NRNB with Power earlier this week to try and get those lost Francs back – third time lucky!

Be lucky