ITV Racing Tips: Friday Best Bets For Day 2 Of Newmarket July Festival

The July Festival at Newmarket continues on Friday as we build up to July Cup day - a wonderful appetiser in the sporting world for the huge England World Cup quarter final with Norway - and Billy Grimshaw once again has found two worthy of support at the home of flat racing.

13:50 Newmarket - Oddschecker Handicap

He is a touch shorter than I'd like to be backing him at, but I did think PRINCLING was the right favourite in here and will be supporting him to give William Haggas the perfect start to Friday at flat racing HQ with a winner. He was last seen running a mighty race in the Golden Gates Handicap at Royal Ascot, finishing fifth but doing remarkably well to secure that position given how keenly he raced in the early part of the race.

Although he did not win the Bahrain Trophy on Thursday, Nil Bua Gan Dua ran well enough to give encouragement that the Ascot race was a strong formline - he finished a place ahead of Princling - and with this Haggas horse having the typical profile of a gradual improver for the handler I expect a much more polished effort here on the July course.

He is drawn next to the expected pace angle Evanesco, who was behind him in the Golden Gates, which should be tremendously beneficial given Princling's keenness was perhaps a consequence of dawdling at the start of the race. The stiff finish will hold no issue for him given how well he finished off his race at Ascot and I think he is simply the best horse in this race. I couldn't have third favourite Laureate Crown in a month of Sundays over this trip, but I am fearful of second in the market Heraldry for the Gosdens.

He was behind the reopposing Decade Of Time at Windsor last time out but looked the horse with more scope that day and now has a huge 10lbs pull in the weights. He looks best of the rest, but I am quite sweet on Princling's chacnes so for all my moaning at the start of this section, maybe the price at around 9/4 isn't too bad after all.

15:00 Newmarket - Betway Trophy

If something looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck. That phrase can of course be applied to any number of possibilities in the betting and sporting world, and it certainly applies to the comically impressive 13 (yes, THIRTEEN) length Carlisle handicap winner WINE DARK SEA. If a horse runs like a group horse in a handicap and wins by thirteen lengths, don't try and be clever, just take the even money about it next time out and quietly go about your day. Be even quicker about taking the even money when you realise said horse is effectively 11lbs well in!

It is rare you see a flat race blown apart in the manner this lad did it for Harry Charlton up in the North East and it is little surprise to see they have rolled him out quickly, penalised, to run off 89 rather than his revised mark of 100 which will apply moving forward. Should he repeat that run, he will saunter to victory here, but I know some worry when they see a flash in the pan and want more evidence. Luckily, there is just that when it comes to this lad. His penultimate start saw him win what looked a good Ascot handicap off 78 and the horse he beat into third that day, Opportunity, subsequently came out and won at the Royal Meeting.

The big question mark is the distance, with two more furlongs than he faced at Carlisle on the menu here, however I am not worried in the slightest about his stamina given that he has won over just a furlong shorter at Ascot, notoriously one of the toughest tests in the land. NAP of the day, NAP of the week, NAP of July, call it what you like. This lad wins, and if he doesn't it's beans on toast with supermarket own branded lager for me for the England game come Saturday night!