Newmarket Cambridgeshire Meeting 2024 Betting Offers

Let’s start by looking at the first Group race of the meeting, the Group 3 Somerville Tattersall Stakes. It’s often referred to simply as the Tattersall Stakes and was named in honour of one of the famous bloodstock auctioneers most senior partners, Edmund Somerville Tattersall. When the current grading for races was introduced in the 1970s it was decided that this was a Listed race, not gaining its Group 3 title until 2000.

Run over 7 furlongs on the Rowley Mile, the race is open to colts and gelding aged 2. The weight information for this race is that it’s 9 stone, with Group 1 and Group 2 race winners given a 5 pound penalty and Group 3 race winners given a penalty of 3 pounds.

As is often the case with flat races, the people that have done well in it in previous years are no longer involved in the sport in any meaningful way. Pat Eddery won the race six times between 1977 and 2003 as a jockey, whilst Henry Cecil has five wins to his name as a trainer. Some of flat racing’s most famous jockeys have been on the winner’s podium at various times in the past, however, including Willie Carson, Richard Hughes and Lester Piggott.

Henry Cecil might have won the race more times than any other trainer but there’s a few names running him close. Michael Stoute has won it three times, for example, and Richard Hannon Senior and his son have won it four times between them. Aidan O’Brien has also notched up a three wins to date.

In terms of what to watch after you’ve observed this race, horses that do well in often go on to be competitive Dewhurst Stakes or the Racing Post Trophy. Peter Davies is a horse who won this and then the Trophy, achieving the feat in 1990. Milk It Mick, meanwhile, won this and the Dewurst Stakes in 2003.  Modern Approach, the 2021 winner, went on to win the Breeders Cup Mile the year after.

There is a similarly named race that is run at Newbury in July, but this Listed race is organised by the Jockey Club and named accordingly. It’s run over 2 miles on a right-handed L and is for horses aged 3 and up. The following weight information applies:

• 3-year-olds: 8 stone 7 pounds
• 4-year-olds: 9 stone 1 pound
• Fillies and mares receive a 5 pound allowance
• Group 1 and Group 2 race winners get a penalty of 7 pounds
• Group 3 race winners get a penalty of 5 pounds
• Listed race winners get a penalty of 3 pound

Originally run at Ascot as the Fenwolf Stakes in 2003, it was moved over to Newmarket and renamed in 2011. Caucus is the only horse to have won it more than once to date, doing so in 2012 and 2013.

William Buick leads the way as far as jockeys are concerned, though Frankie Dettori is not far behind him. The wins of Caucus came on the back of John Gosden’s training, making him the event’s leading trainer.

Another Listed race, the Rosemary Stakes is limited to mares and fillies. Horses can be 3 or older to take part in the race, which is run over 1 mile and took place for the first time in 1991. Back then it was a Listed Handicap and took place at Ascot, getting its move to Newmarket the following year and having the handicap removed.

Despite the fact that it’s open to horses aged 3 and up, no horse has won it more than once. The likes of Michael Roberts has won it more than once, but Richard Hills and Frankie Dettori that leads the way on that front with four wins to their names. Equally a couple of trainers have won it more than once but William Haggas and John Gosden are the leading trainers with four wins each.

It’s fair to say that this race has enjoyed a somewhat confusing life. There was already a race known as the Princess Royal Stakes that took place at Ascot and was a Group 3 offering. It was moved to Newmarket in 2008 when it was given the new title of the Pride Stakes and the Harvest Stakes at Ascot become the Princess Royal Stakes. The Pride Stakes was then returned to Ascot as the British Champions Fillies’ and Mares’ Stakes and the ‘new’ Princess Royal Stakes was moved back to Newmarket. Follow that?

The race takes place on a right-handed L track and is run over 1 mile and 4 furlongs. It’s limited to fillies and mares aged 3 and up, with 3 year olds given a weight of 8 stone, 10 pounds and 4-year-olds 9 stone and 3 pounds. Any Group 1 winners are handed a 7 pound penalty, whilst Group 2 winners get a 5 pound penalty and Group 3 winners a penalty of 3 pounds.

It’s been a Group 3 race since 2017, but when you consider that it’s only been in existence in its current form since 2007 that’s not that long to wait. At the time of writing the only horse that has won the race twice is Journey, who did so in 2015 and 2016. She also won the British Champions Fillies’ and Mares’ Stakes in the latter of those two years.

Frankie Dettori and Richard Hughes and have won the race more than once as jockeys but it is William Buick and Ryan Moore who hold the record with 3 wins. Michael Stoute also has his name on the ‘won it more than once’ list for trainers, though it’s John Gosden who has trained more winners than anyone else, including the two victories for Journey.

Limited to 2-year-old fillies with a weight of 9 stone, there’s a 3 pound penalty in place in this race for horses that have won Group 1 or Group 2 races, It’s run over 7 furlongs on the Rowley Mile is named in honour of a filly who won two of the Classics in 1938. It was run for the first time in 1981 when Top Hope won it.

It was made into a Listed race four years after its establishment, shifting up to Group 2 in 1998. It was made part of Future Champions Day in 2011 but then shifted to its current place as part of the Cambridgeshire Meeting in 2014, swapping places with the Fillies’ Mile. It is now part of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge, with winners of the receive being granted a starting berth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies’ Turf.

Because it’s only for 2-year-olds, no horse has ever won it more than once. The same can’t be said for jockeys, with both Michael Hills and Frankie Dettori setting the pace for victories. Similarly trainers are allowed to enter it multiple times and the likes of Aidan O’Brien and John Gosden have done just that, winning several times apiece. It’s Barry Hills who leads the way for trainers, though, achieving victory in this race four times to date.

Run on the Rowley Mile over a mile, the Joel Stakes is a Group 2 race for horses aged 3 and over. The following weight information is at play:

• 3-year-olds: 9 stone
• 4-year-olds and over: 9 stone 4 pounds
• Fillies and mares receive a 3 pound allowance
• Group 1 winners get a 5 pound penalty
• Group 2 winners get a 3 pound penalty

Originally limited to 3-year-olds and run over 1 mile 2 furlongs, the race was named in honour of Main Reef, a horse owned by Jim Joel. It was made into a Listed race in 1989 when it was opened to horses older than 3. Jim Joel died in 1992 and two years later it was decided that the name should be named after him rather than one of his horses.

Made a Group 3 race in 2003 and then a Group 2 race eight years later, only two horses have been able to win it more than once and they were Benbatl (2019 & 2021) and Mutasaabeq (2022 & 2023). The same cannot be said of jockeys, however, with Michael Hills, Michael Kinane, Jim Crowley and Ryan Moore all managing three wins  but the record holder is Oisin Murphy with four wins, including the two Benbatl victories.

The likes of Aidan O’Brien and David O’Meara and have managed more than one victory as a trainer, but it’s Michael Stoute and Saeed bin Suroor that leads the way on that front with 4 wins as trainers.

Previous winners include the likes of Indian Lodge, who won it with the Darley Stakes in 1999 and then won the Earl of Sefton Stakes, amongst others, the following year. Intikhab won this and the Queen Anne Stakes in 1998, whilst Creachadoir matched his win in 2007 with wins in the Leopardstown 2,000 Guineas Trial and the Tetrarch Stakes.  Kameko the 2020 winner also won the 2000 Guineas earlier in the same year.

A Listed race for horses aged 3 and over, the Godolphin Stakes is run over 1 mile and 4 furlongs. That makes it one of the longer races for a flat racing meeting. At the time of writing no horse has won it more than once, though one of the best-known winners was Storming Home. He won this in 2002, the same year as the Champion Stakes, but went down in history when he was disqualified from the Arlington Million the following year.

Steve Cauthen and William Buick have both got 4 wins as jockeys, but this is Frankie Dettori’s race. The diminutive Italian has stood on the winners’ podium for it five times to date. Luca Cumani and John Dunlop have notched up more than one win as trainers, as have Saeed bin Suroor, Michael Stoute, Charlie Appleby and Marcus Tregoning. It’s Henry Cecil that has won more races as trainer than anyone else, however.

Named after the Royal residence in Windsor Great Park, the Royal Lodge Stakes was first run at Ascot in 1946. It’s a Group 2 offering that is run over a mile on the Rowley Mile and is limited to 2-year-old colts and geldings. The weight is 9 stone, with Group 1 and 2 race winners receiving a penalty of 3 pounds.

It wasn’t always that way, though. When the race was created it was run over 5 furlongs and horses of any gender could enter. It had its length extended to a mile two years after its inauguration and wasn’t limited to colts and geldings until 1987. It received its debut at Newmarket in 2005 when Ascot was undergoing redevelopment and then moved permanently in 2011.

On occasion the race has been included in the Breeders’ Cup Challenge series, meaning that the winner of it gets an automatic berth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf. Winners in recent times have included Jukebox Jury, who won it in 2008 and then went on to win the likes of the Grand Prix de Deauville, the Jockey Club Stakes and the Irish St. Leger. The remarkable Frankel also won this race, doing so in 2010 before winning the Dewhurst Stakes, the 2,000 Guineas and the Queen Anne Stakes.  Roaring Lion went on to win the QEII stakes at Ascot a year after winning this in 2017.

Lester Piggott has won eight races as a jockey, with Noel Murless winning the same number as a trainer. The pair shared some crossover winners, such as Pinched in 1957, and some that weren’t linked. Frankie Dettori has also enjoyed numerous victories as a jockey, with Aidan O’Brien and Henry Cecil giving Murless a run for his money in the modern era.

The first of the Group 1 races we’re looking at is the Cheveley Park Stakes, which was inaugurated in 1899. It was named in honour of an estate that was bought by horse race owner and Conservative politician Henry McCalmont seven years prior. This is a race to watch if you’re looking for bets to place on the 1,000 Guineas next season. Both Special Duty and Pretty Polly are examples of horses that have won both events.

The race is run over 6 furlongs on the Rowley Mile and is open to 2-year-old fillies. The weight is 9 stone and obviously no horse has won it more than once. Sir Gordon Richards notched up nine wins in this event between 1928 and 1953, whilst both Alex Taylor Junior and Criquette Head-Maarek have won it four times as trainers. Notable former winners include Gay Gallanta, Donna Blini, Alcohol Free and Lumiere.

Gay Gallanta won this race in the same year that she won the Queen Mary Stakes at Ascot, whilst Donna Blini had won the Cherry Hinton Stakes, now known as the Duchess of Cambridge Stakes, earlier in the season at Newmarket before winning this one. Lumiere, meanwhile, won this race in 2015 and then won at Newmarket again the following year when he was successful in the Sir Henry Cecil Stakes. Alcohol Free won this in 2020 and went on to win the Coronation Stakes and Sussex Stakes the following year.

The second Group 1 offering is the Middle Park Stakes, which was the idea of William Blenkiron who named it after his stud that he had at Eltham. Originally entitled the Middle Park Plate, it was open to horses of any sex and was only restricted to just colts in 1987. It was shifted to become part of Future Champions Day in 2011 and then returned to the Cambridgeshire Meeting four years later because of a clash with the Dewhurst Stakes, which was seen as being too similar.

It enjoyed a brief stint as part of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge in 2012, giving winners an automatic berth in that competition as part of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Sprint, but when that race was removed from the Breeders’ Cup Challenge later that year the Middle Park Stakes was removed from it too. Nowadays the main reason to watch the race other than just for the fun of it is to get an idea about which horses might to well in the 2,000 Guineas the following season, with Rodrigo de Triano winning both races in 1991 and 1992.

Three different jockeys have won the race six times apiece at the time of writing. Danny Maher did so between 1901 and 1913, Sir Gordon Richards achieved it with wins over a 20 year period from from 1933 to 1953 and Lester Piggott managed it between 1967 and 1982. Pat Eddery and Charlie Elliott can consider themselves unlucky to not be on that list, having won it five times apiece. In more modern times Frankie Dettori has racked up four wins.

Run over 6 furlongs on the straight and restricted to 2-year-old colts, the race has a weight of 9 stone attached. Aidan O’Brien has trained more winners than anyone else, achieving victory in the race seven times between 2000 and 2022.

A Heritage Handicap that is run over 1 mile and 1 furlong on the Rowley Mile, the race was inaugurated in 1839. It’s for horses aged 3 and over, with the handicap nature of it meaning that the handicapper decides how much weight each horse should carry, rather than a pre-set rule. Halling is arguably the most famous horse to have won the race, following up victory here in 1994 with dual wins in the likes of the Eclipse Stakes and the International Stakes in 1995 and 1996.

To date, seven horses have won the race twice. They are:

• Heckler’s Pride
• Christmas Daisy
• Sterope
• Prince de Galles
• Baronet
• Rambo’s Hell
• Bronze Angel

The race was established in the same year as another handicap event at Newmarket, the Cesarewitch. Originally it was the Cesarewitch that was run first, but the schedule was later switched and the Cambridgeshire now takes place around two weeks before the Cesarewitch. Rosebery in 1876, Foxhall in 1881 and Plainsanterie in 1885 all won both races in the same season, but it’s unusual for horses to even try any more.

Nat Flatman and George Fordham both won the race four times, with the former doing so towards the end of the 19th century and the latter towards the end of the 20th. William Day and Jeremy Glover have achieved four wins as trainers and John Gosden holds the record with 5 wins, though it’s worth noting that some of the trainer’s in the race’s more formative years aren’t actually known.