Will we spot a future Classic winner at Newmarket this week? The July festival races won by racing's next stars

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While much of the attention this week will be on the July Cup, Princess of Wales's Stakes and the Falmouth, the July festival is also one of the top weeks for spotting the stars of the future. These are the six juvenile races coming our way and the Classic heroes, Royal Ascot winners and globetrotting superstars who have broken through here before.

Kingdom of Bahrain July Stakes (6f Group 2) - Thursday 2.25

With Aidan O'Brien's grandly named Abraham Lincoln heading to the Superlative Stakes, the market for Thursday's opening two-year-old contest looks set to be headed by Charlie Appleby's comfortable York maiden winner Inner City Blues.

Past winners of this include leading sprint sire Mehmas and 2019 Commonwealth Cup winner Advertise, while more recent editions have been taken by sprint division mainstay Jasour, St James's Palace runner-up Lusail and Group 1-winning juvenile Whistlejacket, Aidan O'Brien often sending one of his smarter two-year-olds over for this.

In 2017 that was future Middle Park and Dewhurst winner U S Navy Flag, who was beaten by Cardsharp but returned to the July course 12 months later to land the July Cup.

Zavateri took last year's race for Eve Johnson Houghton before going on to down Gstaad in the Goffs Vincent O'Brien National Stakes at the Curragh.

Duchess of Cambridge Stakes (6f fillies' Group 2) - Friday 2.25

Venetian Sun was the 2-5 winner of the fillies' 6f Group 2 last season, Karl Burke's superstar now a two-time Royal Ascot winner, having landed last month's Commonwealth Cup, and will likely go off favourite for Saturday's sprint feature race, the July Cup.

Venetian Sun: two-time Royal Ascot winner and July Cup favouriteCredit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)

This is also the contest where 1,000 Guineas heroine Mawj claimed her first Group success, while in 2018 Pretty Pollyanna took the Duchess of Cambridge Stakes before landing the Group 1 Prix Morny later in the season.

Aidan O'Brien does not have a runner in this year's edition but his last two winners, Clemmie and Roly Poly, went on to four Group 1 successes between them.

Unsurprisingly, Royal Ascot winners regularly follow up here. Queen Mary second Senorita Bonita will be looking to follow a similar path to Raffle Prize who won that Royal Ascot contest in 2019 and doubled up here. 

Libertango: George Boughey's Royal Ascot winner returns to action hereCredit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)

Favourite Libertango charts the same path as Venetian Sun in 2025 and arrives at the July festival off the back of success in the Albany.

Superlative Stakes (7f Group 2) - Saturday 4.00

The final juvenile race of the week may also be the most hotly anticipated, €2.3 million Wootton Bassett colt Abraham Lincoln making his second start after an impressive debut win at the Curragh two weeks ago.

This is the same Newmarket contest City Of Troy won back in 2023, posting an RPR of 118 in the process.

It is Charlie Appleby who has won six of the last ten renewals, however, Al Hudaiba being his and William Buick's contender this year.

The Appleby roll of honour in the Superlative Stakes includes champion two-year-old and Irish Guineas winner Native Trail, as well as Master Of The Seas.

Subsequent Group 3 winners Haatem and Seagulls Eleven also chased home the winner in recent editions of this often-deep contest.

Elsewhere at the July festival - three major maidens

Along with the three Group races for juveniles there is also a maiden on each of the three days of the July festival. 

Thursday's 7f British Stallion Studs EBF Maiden Fillies' Stakes (4.10) is where Desert Flower made her debut at the start of a five-race winning sequence that culminated with 1,000 Guineas victory.

Desert Flower: 2025 winner of the 1,000 GuineasCredit: Edward Whitaker (racingpost.com/photos)

Saturday's Rossdales British EBF Maiden Stakes (1.40) has also had plenty of eye-catching winners and runners in recent years. Ballydoyle's latest superstar Constitution River made his debut here last season, narrowly beaten by Irish Guineas runner-up Distant Storm.

A year earlier, in 2024, it was the scene of the recently retired Field Of Gold's first victory, while 2022 Jersey Stakes winner Noble Truth also shed his maiden tag in this contest.

Read more July festival build-up here:

Four Royal Ascot winners, a Japanese gem and a 200-1 Group 1 hero - why this year's July Cup is one you can't miss  

Venetian Sun heads confirmations for July Cup with Aidan O'Brien-trained Royal Ascot winner and Wathnan duo in the Newmarket mix 

Aidan O'Brien finally decides to split up Precise and True Love - but which one is heading to Newmarket for the Falmouth Stakes?

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