Newmarket Tips: Can Fleeting Spirit repeat in July Cup?

Newmarket July Festival / Alex Steedman / 09 July 2010 / Leave a Comment

Fleeting Spirit wins the 2009 running of the July Cup - will it be more of the same on Friday?

"Highland Knight looks well weighted and attractively progressive in the opening 13:30. I saw him chase home Man of Action at HQ in May and that horse is now on the verge of pattern company having won a handicap off 88."

Racing UK's Alex Steedman rounds out three days of Newmarket tipping with another trio of bets

There was a generation of kids who spent much of the late 1980s charging around on skateboards and BMX's hollering "I feel the need - the need for speed!" Adrenaline junkies among you can fix that need at 15:10 on Friday afternoon as the sprinting division looks to crown its very own Top Gun.

Starspangledbanner ([2.56]) may be forgiven feeling a little misplaced as an Aussie-born, Irish-trained, American-named sprinter but there is no doubting there was something of the 'Maverick' in him when he blasted his rivals in the King's Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot. Much like the Workforce transformation from Dante to Derby, so it was that O'Brien's speedster looked a different cat entirely at Ascot. That parachute sound-bite might not have been far off the mark. Still, Newmarket requires more than just blazing speed.

Fleeting Spirit ([5.5]) isn't quite the Kelly McGillis (or should that be Nicole Kidman) to Maverick's Tom Cruise but she is something of a Tomcat herself. A surging winner of this race last year, her only visit to the July course, Jermery Noseda's filly has just over two lengths to find on Ascot running where she was drawn away from the dog fight on the far side. Fleeting Spirit has always run well at Newmarket - remember she chased home subsequent 1,000 Guineas winner Natagora as a juvenile - and Frankie Dettori's record on her reads 1127, the latter being in the Breeder's Cup.

The Italian's cock-pit switch means Damien Oliver is back on board Nicconi who partnered the Hayes horse to victory over Starspangledbanner in the Lightening Stakes in January. He might prove better up to six furlongs over here and his hold up run style might stimulate some big prices in running.

It makes a change for Aiden O'Brien to come here with a genuine sprinter as opposed to a failing miler but at the prices I fancy Fleeting Spirit to shoot him down.

Earlier, Highland Knight looks well weighted and attractively progressive in the opening 13:30. I saw him chase home Man of Action at HQ in May and that horse is now on the verge of pattern company having won a handicap off 88. Our fella is 1lb lower today and romped away with a maiden at Lingfield on Derby weekend and for good measure, the runner-up from that race Zakiy looked pretty smart when winning next time. Lively dangers are thin on the ground and Highland Knight looks a very strong bet.

Similarly appealing is Bay Willow in the closing 16:55. Mark Johnston loves unleashing improved 3yr olds upon the older horses at this time of year and Bay Willow looked wonderfully straightforward when delivering in Ireland last time. He has gone up a fair bit in the handicap but his previous 4th at Royal Ascot underlines his quality as well as a solid profile and he looks the perfect tool for Frankie Dettori to exploit. If you're looking for a saver at bigger prices, Overrule is interesting on his return to the Flat for an in form yard.

Recommended Bets:
13:30 Highland Knight, 8pts win @ [5.5] (0-10pts scale)
15:10 Fleeting Spirit, 1pt win & place @ [5.5] and [1.92]
16:55 Bay Willow, 2pts win