HeadlinesBriefing favicon HeadlinesBriefing.com

Hollie Doyle Previews Saturday's Major Races at Ascot, Newmarket, York

Sky Sports Champions League •
×

Hollie Doyle identifies More Thunder as the one to beat in Ascot's Group Two Summer Mile (2.27), where the five-year-old seeks a breakthrough at the distance after Group One seconds in the Lockinge and Queen Anne. Cieren Fallon takes the ride from stall one, with Karl Burke's Zeus Olympios and French raider No Lunch — unbeaten in six — the principal dangers. No Lunch's Saint-Cloud form received a boost when runner-up Seagulls Eleven won a Group Three at Epsom.

At Newmarket, Doyle backs Almeraq to land the July Cup (4.35) for William Haggas and Shadwell, completing a Group One double after his Jubilee Stakes win at Royal Ascot. Husband Tom Marquand rides the colt, who has thrived since Ascot. Stablemate Division and Commonwealth Cup winner Venetian Sun loom large. In the Superlative Stakes, Aidan O'Brien's Abraham Lincoln gets the nod over Charlie Appleby's Al Hudaiba.

York's valuable John Smith's Cup (3.45) features royal runner Warrant Holder for the Gosdens, dropping back from his Duke of Edinburgh second. Haggas also fields Yabher, impressive at Goodwood. At Chester, Doyle's former mount Witness Stand holds a plum draw in the City Plate (3.52) after a wind operation.

Saturday's spread tests the depth of Britain's milers and sprinters. More Thunder's Ascot form reads strongest on paper, but No Lunch's unbeaten streak and Almeraq's Royal Ascot peak introduce genuine uncertainty. The July Cup winner will likely define the sprinting hierarchy for the remainder of the season.