Horse Racing Tips: Our pundit-packed Cheat Sheet for Thursday at Newmarket

Impossible to get away from ANCIENT WISDOM with some juice in the ground for Charlie Appleby and William Buick. While Space Legend is clearly talented, Ancient Wisdom was a Group 1 winning juvenile and returned with a fair second to Economics in the Dante before a moderate eighth in the Derby itself. This is a horse who needs give in the ground and I expect him to bounce back.

Space Legend ran really well for the William Haggas team at the Royal meeting and was firmly put in his place in the closing stages by Calandagan, one of the runaway winners of the week. He’s stepping up slightly in distance which looks to prove no problem whatsoever. He can be another smart winner for the new operation.

I’m looking for late developers in this race as a general rule and the obvious one to be with here is Space Legend. It’s going to be a tactical four-runner race and it wouldn’t be a surprise is someone was to nick this. I like the way Space Legend shaped last time at Royal Ascot and I’d fancy him here.

Back on soft ground will be a big plus for ANCIENT WISDOM. He bopped at the Derby but he wouldn’t be the first horse to do that, I can see him bouncing back to win.

This is a pretty trappy race and there might not be a genuine pace throughout. Ancient Wisdom is stepping up a furlong here and that should suit him. Space Legend has a bit to find on Ancient Wisdom so I’ll side with Charlie Appleby’s runner with William Buick on board.

Whistlejacket is obvious here but I’ll chance AOMORI CITY for Godolphin, Charlie Appleby and William Buick. Ultimately this son of Oasis Dream will stay further and that’s the angle I like in this event. The selection showed plenty of promise on debut at Nottingham and looked as though he would have learnt plenty from that effort as he didn’t travel as well as the runner-up. They won the same Nottingham race with Blue Point in 2016.

Whistlejacket bolted up on home soil under soft conditions and was an incredibly short-priced favourite for the Norfolk. He came unstuck there under much faster conditions and it looks as if the weather is going to play ball for him and he should get just a little bit of ease in the ground. He can step back into the winners enclosure.

The one two-year-old race I got right at Royal Ascot was the one Aint Nobody won! I thought it ended up being a pretty strong contest and Aint Nobody was about 20/1 the day before but was 5s at the starting post. He has a speedy pedigree and you’d say he’d be a 5f horse but he needed every yard to get up in the Windsor Castle and the step up should suit.

The July Stakes is a cracker. The selection is ELECTROLYTE for Archie Watson with James Doyle riding. Running on second in the Coventry, with another stride would have won. He’s the one to be on.

Whistlejacket is the rightful favourite but I’m going to go against him as he’s such a short price. I’ll side with Archie Watson’s Electrolyte, who ran a cracker in the Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot when finishing second. He forced a photo and fell just short but he looked a little green that day. He’ll have come on for that run and he can go one better than his Ascot second.

A wide open contest, I like ELMONJED each-way here for a William Haggas stable that is flying now compared to when he ran his first two starts this season at York. The first was over 7f and he kept on well while the second was over this trip and he just couldn’t quite see his effort out. Jim Crowley takes the ride and he has a big each-way chance.

Brave Empire (each-way) finished behind a couple of these at the Royal meeting but was unfavoured by the way the race unfolded in front of him. He steps up a furlong which looks ideal and he certainly doesn’t look overburdened on a mark of just 94. He’s a lightly-raced improver.

I like Tropical Island and the price is already starting to go on her which is not a surprise. She really caught my eye at York last time out and was a decent two year old who was successful on debut. The way she went through the race at York was impressive despite it being her first start of the season, those at the front just went off too fast. It suggested she is well-handicapped, she’s been dropped 1lb for that run, and I think she’ll step up.

IMPERIAL GUARD is the mount of Haley Turner here and the good thing is that Haley knows this horse well having ridden him at York recently when it looked like like he got out paced at the wrong time. I think this slightly slower ground here is going to help this horse. He ran very well at Ascot on decent ground as well. Nice weight on its back as well, only 8st 6lbs. So it’s Imperial Guard for me.

Tropical Island caught the eye last time out at York and she’s got decent from as a two-year-old. She travelled really well last time out and she needed that run. She wasn’t best positioned that day and she can show improvement on that.

There should be some pace on here with Outbox Giavellotto both able to go forward. It’s hard what to know we will get from ARREST as he has been disappointing this season but at his best the St Leger second might be too good for the old boy Hamish who has run two crackers this term.

Providing the rain arrives, Hamish surely has too much finishing kick for all of these in the line up and will be able to produce a telling change of gear late on. Just in case he doesn’t go and the rain doesn’t arrive, the race could be at the mercy of Giavellotto.

Hamish is an impossible horse not to like and he’s not been out of the first two in the last two years. He’s not particularly flashy, he tends to have to come off the bridle before he wins his races, but he battles and he stays. He’s always vulnerable to a test of speed over 1m4f. If it turns into a sprint, that could go against him. I don’t see him letting that happen and I think a solid-enough gallop through the race will suit,

For the Princess of Wales Stakes, I might be unoriginal but I’m going for HAMISH. He will love the ground, it’s a home game for him and he’s going to be hard to beat.

This is another tough one to call. There are faults in all of Hamish‘s opposition in this so he’s the most solid option to get behind. He’s going to get his ground now the rain has come and he’s the one to beat. I’m not getting stuck into him at the price but he’s the most likely winner.