Newmarket July Festival 2026 Day 2 Tips - Race-By-Race Tips for Friday
Day Two of Newmarket’s July Festival 2026 highlights the Falmouth Stakes alongside several competitive handicaps and the Duchess of Cambridge Stakes. Top betting tips for the day include Princling (1:50pm), Etonnante as an outsider in the Duchess of Cambridge Stakes (2:25pm), Valedictory (3:00pm), Rhythm N Hooves each-way value (4:45pm), and Toastmaster (5:20pm). Experts recommend focusing bets on these selections, with strong cases made for improvement, field suitability, and value odds.
- Free tips for day two of the 2026 July Festival
- The Falmouth Stakes headlines the schedule at Newmarket
- Etonnante, Valedictory and Toastmaster feature in our race-by-race tips for day two
- July Festival 2026 Day 2 Schedule
- 1:50pm Newmarket - Oddschecker Handicap Tips
- 2:25pm Newmarket - Duchess Of Cambridge Stakes Tips
- 3:00pm Newmarket - Betway Trophy Tips
- 3:35pm Newmarket - Falmouth Stakes Tips
- 4:10pm Newmarket - Maiden Fillies' Stakes Tips
- 4:45pm Newmarket - Debenhams Handicap Tips
- 5:20pm Newmarket - Jockey Club Estates Handicap Tips
Day Two Tips
Newmarket's July Festival rolls into its second day on Friday, where the Falmouth Stakes headlines another quality card.
Around the Group One feature, punters will sink their teeth into several competitive handicaps, as well as the Group Two Duchess Of Cambridge Stakes. Here are my best betting tips for every race on day two of the July Festival.
July Festival 2026 Day 2 Schedule
| Time | Title |
|---|---|
| 1:50pm | Oddschecker Handicap (Heritage Handicap) 1m2f |
| 2:25pm | Duchess Of Cambridge Stakes (Sponsored By Ultimate Provence) (Group 2) 6f |
| 3:00pm | Betway Trophy (Heritage Handicap) 1m6f |
| 3:35pm | Tattersalls Sceptre Sessions Falmouth Stakes (Group 1) 1m |
| 4:10pm | Weatherbys Banking Group British EBF Maiden Fillies' Stakes (Class 3) 6f |
| 4:45pm | Debenhams Handicap (Class 3) 5f |
| 5:20pm | Jockey Club Estates Handicap (Class 4) 7f |
Newmarket July Festival Tips - Friday 10th July 2026
1:50pm Newmarket - Oddschecker Handicap Tips
I fancied PRINCLING (9/4) in the Golden Gates Handicap at Royal Ascot, hoping the step up to ten furlongs would bring about further improvement in William Haggas' handicapper.
Tom Marquand's mount was a step slow from the widest stall of all and raced keenly in the early stages, forcing his rider to settle him near the rear of the field. Turning for home, Princling sat fourth last before being angled towards the centre of the track to mount his challenge. Haggas' three-year-old saw out the trip strongly, but had far too much ground to make up and crossed the line three lengths behind Lost Boys in fifth.
Princling remains on the same mark for this assignment, and the smaller field should help Marquand secure a better early position. Laureate Crown is a horse I like and Decade Of Time is interesting, but I'm finding it hard to look beyond the market leader.
2:25pm Newmarket - Duchess Of Cambridge Stakes Tips
Libertango was impressive when landing the Albany at Royal Ascot, and George Boughey's filly will take some stopping on Friday. That being said, I'm never keen to back juveniles at short prices, as they can often be unpredictable, so I'll take the market leader on with ETONNANTE (16/1) for Karl Burke.
Burke's filly made her racecourse debut at Ripon at the end of May and was sent off as the 5/6 favourite. Clifford Lee's mount never looked in trouble, hitting the front with two furlongs to travel before kicking two lengths clear of her market rival on the uphill run to the line.
Burke said after that victory that Etonnante wouldn't be out of place at Royal Ascot, but the owners would rather wait for the perfect opportunity. This daughter of Havana Grey looked like she would improve physically for her first run at Ripon, and Burke is a master with precocious juvenile fillies.
3:00pm Newmarket - Betway Trophy Tips
Wine Dark Sea looks far too short in the market, considering he's drawn in stall one and has never raced over this trip before. I'd much rather back VALEDICTORY (10/3), who holds an entry in the Ebor later in the summer.
Progressive at three, Valedictory was sent off at 5/4 to win the race that Wine Dark Sea landed at Ascot in May. The winner was given an excellent, prominent ride by Saffie Osborne, while the favourite hit every traffic light as he tried to challenge from the rear under Billy Loughnane and could only stay on into sixth late on.
Valedictory unseated Benoît de la Sayette on the way to the start at Goodwood last time out and looked green once the race got underway. De la Sayette was able to smuggle the favourite into contention before asserting in the closing stages to score by a cosy length and a half.
John and Thady Gosden's rising star wasn't entered in any of the handicaps at Royal Ascot, so this has presumably been the target all along. Valedictory relished 14 furlongs at Goodwood, and I'd be surprised if this new mark of 92 proved to be his ceiling.
3:35pm Newmarket - Falmouth Stakes Tips
Take a look at our full guide to the 2026 Falmouth Stakes to find out who we've backed in Friday's feature.
Visit our Falmouth Stakes Live Stream page if you want to watch any race from Newmarket live via a mobile or tablet.
4:10pm Newmarket - Maiden Fillies' Stakes Tips
No bet for me in this one. Acting Lady is very short in the market and only two of her rivals have raced before.
4:45pm Newmarket - Debenhams Handicap Tips
RHYTHM N HOOVES (10/1) could be worth chancing here, as the July Course should suit his running style. Robert Cowell's six-year-old has only won twice on turf since his Royal Ascot victory in 2023, scoring at Doncaster the following year before landing a good handicap at Newbury last August.
Billy Loughnane's mount was kept busy throughout the all-weather season and went close on his latest turf start at Windsor, going down by just a neck to Dream Composer. Despite that narrow defeat in a competitive handicap, Rhythm N Hooves remains on a mark of 81, which is 6lb lower than his last winning rating.
5:20pm Newmarket - Jockey Club Estates Handicap Tips
Sierra Sands and Angel Gabriel met here at Newmarket over six furlongs last month, but neither has been tried over seven, and this is sure to test their stamina. TOASTMASTER (7/1) beat two of his rivals at Doncaster last time out, and Michael Herrington's handicapper was only raised 2lb for that success.
Toastmaster idled at the rear for much of that contest as Two Non Blondes and Flight Control battled for the lead. Herrington's three-year-old quickly bridged the gap entering the final two furlongs, but idled again once he pulled upsides the leaders and only managed to edge half a length clear on the run to the line.
I felt Toastmaster was comfortably the best horse in that contest, and a mere 2lb rise looks lenient. Oisin Murphy won't want to be left with too much to do at the rear, as it can be difficult to make up ground on this stiff track. Yet, Toastmaster is one of the strongest stayers in the field, and there's every chance he can follow up in Friday's card-closer.
Verdict
Day Two Top Tips:
Top Betting Sites
Betting offers
Upcoming Events
09 July 2026
- Daily Racing Lucky 15 -
- Horse Racing
- Daily Racing Treble -
- Horse Racing
- Daily Racing Double -
- Horse Racing
- July Festival 2026 Day 1 Tips -
- Horse Racing
- 2026 Bahrain Trophy -
- Horse Racing
- 2026 Princess Of Wales's Stakes -
- Horse Racing
- NAP Of The Day -
- Horse Racing
10 July 2026
- July Festival 2026 Day 2 Tips -
- Horse Racing
- 2026 Falmouth Stakes -
- Horse Racing
11 July 2026
- 2026 John Smith's Cup -
- Horse Racing
- 2026 July Cup -
- Horse Racing
Load More
