Betfair Official Blog

Newmarket Champions meeting betting

The two-day Newmarket Champions meeting is arguably the highest class fixture staged all year in Great Britain, offering sensational racing, tremendous betting opportunities and plenty of food for thought for odds compilers along the way.

The card on the first day of the fixture is a mere appetiser, with only the Group 3 Bentinck Stakes really standing out from a betting perspective, but the Saturday seven-race card includes six top class group races, whilst the only handicap is the second leg of the 'Autumn Double', the Cesarewitch, a long distance stayers event that provides great value odds for the betting public and is often the medium of substantial ante-post and race day bets.

The Champion Stakes is the big event of the day, the Group 1 ten furlong contest having been won by some outstanding horses over the years, with recent scorers Bosra Sham, Alborada (twice), Pilsudski and Rakti having added their names to the illustrious roll of honour.

Trainer Barry Hills has landed some juicy bets in the race of late, taking the event twice in the last five years with Storming Home and Haafhd, Sir Michael Stoute also has a good record, but the odds are strongly against Godolphin or Aidan O'Brien triumphing as neither of these powerful yards has ever won the race!

The Darley Dewhurst Stakes (Group1 ) is another highlight on the card and often sees a major shake-up in ante-post betting as odds makers re-assess their view of the leading two-year-old colts, whilst the Group 2 Rockfel Stakes for fillies also has a strong affect on the odds and betting for the following season's 1,000 Guineas.

The Group 3 Jockey Club Cup has established itself as a memorable event in the last couple of decades with the remarkable Further Flight taking the race an astonishing five times in the 1990's before the great Persian Punch landed masses of public bets and defied both the odds and 'Father Time' to win the race three times, his final win coming at the age of 10.