Advertise to face older horses in Group 1 July Cup at Newmarket

By the time Advertise won the Group 1 Commonwealth Cup for 3-year-old sprinters at Royal Ascot in England on June 21, winning jockey Frankie Dettori was at the center of attention as the leading rider at the famous five-day meeting.

Dettori ended Royal Ascot with seven wins. Advertise was the last of those victories, a day after Dettori rode the first four winners on the program in a valiant effort to sweep the six-race card.

Advertise, trained by Martyn Meade for Phoenix Thoroughbreds, won his second Group 1 race in the Commonwealth Cup at six furlongs, having won the Group 1 Keeneland Phoenix Stakes at the Curragh in Ireland last summer.

The Commonwealth Cup was apparently Advertise’s final start against his age group. Saturday at Newmarket, Advertise will face older horses for the first time in the Group 1 July Cup at six furlongs.

Advertise, who will be ridden by Dettori, was the 11-4 favorite in future-book betting on Thursday to win the $625,950 July Cup, which drew a field of 12 and is run on a straightaway course. Advertise has shown to be handy in the past, capable of stalking the pace to the final quarter-mile.

The July Cup field includes five 3-year-olds, including Ten Sovereigns who was fourth as the even-money favorite in the Commonwealth Cup. Trained by Aidan O’Brien, Ten Sovereigns won the Group 1 Middle Park Stakes at six furlongs at Newmarket last September. The Middle Park Stakes was run on Newmarket’s Rowley Mile course, while the July Cup is run on the nearby July course, which does not have as testing of an uphill finish. The two courses have separate grandstands.

Advertise will face a difficult challenge on Saturday from Dream of Dreams, who was an excellent second to the sprint star Blue Point in the Group 1 Diamond Jubilee Stakes at six furlongs at Royal Ascot on June 22. Dream of Dreams overcame a poor start to finish second by a head to Blue Point, who won the Group 1 King’s Stand Stakes at five furlongs at Royal Ascot on June 18. Blue Point has since been retired.

Dream of Dreams will be ridden by Daniel Tudhope, who won a career-best four races at Royal Ascot this year.

The July Cup will be the Group 1 debut for Cape Byron, who beat 25 rivals in two sprints at Ascot earlier this year – the Victoria Cup at seven furlongs on May 11 and the Wokingham Stakes at six furlongs at the Royal meeting on June 22.