MASTER trainer Aidan O’Brien is on the brink of yet another record, as a win in Saturday’s July Cup (4.35pm) would make him the leading trainer in the famous sprint.
He is currently tied with his forebear at Ballydoyle, the legendary Vincent O’Brien as well as Charles Morton, who trained five July Cup winners between 1903 and 1914.
O’Brien is set to saddle MISSION CENTRAL in his quest for a sixth win in the six-furlong Group One.
The three-year-old son of No Nay Never has taken his form to another level this season, winning all three of his starts, twice in Listed company and most recently the Group One King Charles III Stakes at Royal Ascot.
While he broke smartly at Ascot, he looked to be feeling the pinch at halfway as he dropped back in the field, only to rattle home and nab Rayevka on the line.
The way he shaped suggests this step back up to six furlongs for the first time since last season may well bring about more improvement.
While he faces fellow Group One Ascot winners Venetian Sun and Almeraq here, I think Mission Central has the potential to be the best of them, and he would be a win selection at attractive odds of 5/1.
Aidan’s son Donnacha’s horses weren’t running well at Royal Ascot, but recent signs are that they have begun to turn the corner with him saddling a Grade One winner in the United States last week.
Donnacha’s COMANCHE BRAVE finished seventh behind Almeraq in the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes at Ascot but wasn’t beaten far and was caught behind horses when the dash for home ensued.
It wasn’t a bad effort in short, so his price of 25/1 is a slight insult for a horse that was a comfortable winner of a Group Two at the Curragh and before that was less than two lengths behind Satono Reve in a Sha Tin race won by the world’s best horse, Ka Ying Rising.
Sprinters can suddenly bounce back to form, so it’s unwise to write them off after a below par effort, and Comanche Brave is just too big a price to ignore.
Sometimes when looking at a race, there’s a horse that immediately presents itself and that’s the case with AALTO in Newmarket’s Bunbury Cup (3.25pm).
Ian Williams’ charge has an excellent record in this historic handicap, having won the race in 2024 and being beaten a nose by More Thunder last year.
More Thunder went on to win a Group Two in impressive style on his next start and has since developed into a Group One performer.
Aalto doesn’t face anything near that quality of opposition in this renewal, one that doesn’t look the deepest, and what is more he arrives five pounds lower in the weights than 2025.
Come race time, I can see him going off at half the price of his current 4/1, and that makes him a good bet.
At York, the big betting race of the day is the John Smith’s Cup (3.45pm), where plenty of unexposed four-year-olds dominate the head of the betting.
The likes of Warrant Holder, Yabher, Danger Bay and Raammee are all interesting but I’d rather side with something at a bigger price.
THUNDER RUN finished only a length behind current favourite Warrant Holder over this course and distance in May and is now better off at the weights.
He has won twice on the Knavesmire in the past, and can be competitive off this mark, so I struggle to see why he is over six times the price of the favourite at 33/1.
POINTERS SATURDAY
Aalto 3.25pm Newmarket
Thunder Run e/w 3.45pm York
Mission Central 4.35pm Newmarket
Comanche Brave e/w 4.35pm Newmarket
