bet365 Handicap Preview, Tips, Runners & Trends (July Festival)

Uncover the trends and profiles behind the bet365 Handicap at Newmarket. Analyse past winners, leading trainers, and jockey records in this competitive Festival handicap for valuable betting insight.
bet365 Handicap Preview, Tips, Runners & Trends (July Festival)
Andy Powell
Andy Powell Expert Guide

You know how punters get lost in too much data or bet blindly? I break down the stats and trends so you can feel confident you’re betting with more than just gut instinct.

2026 bet365 Handicap Preview

Scheduled to take place in July of each year at the Newmarket racecourse during the July Festival is this Class 2 Heritage Handicap. The race is restricted to three-year-old runners only and is run over a distance of one mile and two furlongs for horses rated up to an OR of 105.

bet365 Handicap Information:

Why not use the trends shortlist below to help you narrow down the field and then head over to the dedicated Newmarket tips page to see which runners are being supported by the OLBG expert racing tipsters to find yourself a bet? You may also be interested in other preview blogs that we have packed full of information. Head down to the Other Principal races during the Newmarket July Festival section for links to these.

Best Horse Racing Betting Sites 2025
ALSO READ

Best Horse Racing Betting Sites 2025

How competitive is the bet365 Handicap market? When looking at the over-rounds for the last 20 renewals, the most competitive market was in 2025 when the race had an over-round of 115%. The race in 2007 was a race that was most in the bookie's favour with an over-round of 135%, whilst on average over the last 20 renewals of the bet365 Handicap, the over-round has been 122%, which means the bookie expects to pay out £100 for every £122 which is bet.

Below you will find the 2026 bet365 Handicap Trends. See which patterns have occurred over the recent renewals that you may be able to use for the next renewal. We also have a section that looks at the bet365 Handicap Trend Analysis.

These are the top three quickest-run bet365 Handicap races over the last 20 renewals:

  1. Walkinthesand (2:00.61) in 2019
  2. Maputo (2:00.91) in 2013
  3. New London (2:01.81) in 2022

Looking at the future form, is the winner worth following next time out? Over the past 20 renewals, if you had followed the winner of the bet365 Handicap next time out, then you would have backed a total of 4 winners. Backing all 18 runners who have been out since their win at SP next time out would have returned an LSP of +2.60. Before placing your bet on the 2026 bet365 Handicap, see which other runners today are being backed on the racing predictions page.

Over the last 20 renewals, it was Walkinthesand, trained by Richard Hannon and ridden by Ryan Moore, who set the fastest winning time in the bet365 Handicap. That runner won the race in a time of 2:00.61 in 2019. At the other end of the scale, it was the combination of trainer Andrew Balding and jockey Ryan Moore with Stature who set the slowest winning time; the race-winning time was 2:09.11 in the 2012 renewal.

What the expert says...
The 2024 winner, Involvement, came here after finishing 7th in the Britannia Stakes a month earlier. That runner was the fifth winner to come from the Britannia Stakes since 2008, with most of them finishing well down the field in that race, 6th, 23rd, 19th & 4th.

Andy Powell - Horse Racing Betting Expert - OLBG.com

bet365 Handicap Past Winners

Here are the bet365 Handicap past winners for the last 10 renewals. Each row details the year of the race, the horse which won, along with the age & weight of the horse. Also detailed is the stall where the horse came from and the total number of runners in the race. The horse's trainer and the jockey at the time of winning the bet365 Handicap are also displayed, along with the starting price at which the horse was sent off.

YearHorse (Drawn)Info
2025
2:04.66
Kings Charter (IRE)
3yo 9-9 (8 of 8) 9/4F
William Buick
Charlie Appleby (GB)
2024
2:05.22
Involvement (GB)
3yo 9-5 (6 of 10) 100/30F
Oisin Murphy
Simon & Ed Crisford (GB)
2023
2:06.61
Killybegs Warrior (IRE)
3yo 9-7 (6 of 12) 20/1
Kevin Stott
Charlie Johnston (GB)
2022
2:01.81
New London (IRE)
3yo 9-6 (1 of 12) 6/4F
William Buick
Charlie Appleby (GB)
2021
2:02.86
Dubai Honour (IRE)
3yo 8-12 (5 of 10) 11/2
James Doyle
William Haggas (GB)
2020
2:04.84
Zabeel Champion (GB)
3yo 8-5 (2 of 11) 8/1
P J McDonald
Mark Johnston (GB)
2019
2:00.61
Walkinthesand (IRE)
3yo 9-7 (6 of 14) 9/1
Ryan Moore
Richard Hannon (GB)
2018
2:04.65
Communique (IRE)
3yo 8-9 (4 of 9) 8/1
Silvestre De Sousa
Mark Johnston (GB)
2017
2:02.34
Marzouq (USA)
3yo 8-8 (1 of 11) 6/1
J F Egan
Jeremy Noseda (GB)
2016
2:01.97
Ode To Evening (GB)
3yo 9-5 (13 of 13) 25/1
James McDonald
Mark Johnston (GB)

Where have the winning runners come from?

Here are the countries where the winning trainers of the bet365 Handicap have been based:

  • GB: 20 winners with an additional 43 placings from 254 runners
  • IRE: 0 winners with an additional 0 placings from 1 runner

2025 bet365 Handicap Replay


bet365 Handicap Trainer Statistics

There are two leading trainers in the bet365 Handicap over the last 20 renewals, with both Andrew Balding and Charlie Appleby, who have both won the race two times. Andrew Balding winners have been with Jedediah (2008) and Stature (2012). Charlie Appleby winners have been with New London (2022) and Kings Charter (2025). Two trainers have not had the best of times over the last 20 renewals in the bet365 Handicap. Sir Michael Stoute has sent a total of 11 runners to the race without recording any wins, whilst John Gosden has sent out 11 without a winner.

Here are some of the top bet365 Handicap trainer statistics over the last 20 renewals (R = Runners, W = Winners, P = Places including winners, Win LSP is based on 1pt Win and EW LSP is based on 0.5pt Win & 0.5pt Place):

TrainerR-W-PWinEW
Andrew Balding16-2-6+9.00+8.18
Charlie Appleby10-2-4-4.25-3.21
William Haggas13-1-2-6.50-6.45
Richard Fahey7-1-2+1.00+0.88
Charlie Johnston5-1-2+16.00+9.50
Richard Hannon5-1-4+5.00+10.53
Simon & Ed Crisford3-1-1+1.33+0.00
Sir Michael Stoute11-0-5-11.00-4.88
John Gosden11-0-1-11.00-9.75
Ed Dunlop5-0-2-5.00+0.13

bet365 Handicap Jockey Statistics

The leading jockey in the bet365 Handicap over the last 20 renewals is William Buick, who has won the race three times, with those three winners coming from Resonant (2015), New London (2022) and Kings Charter (2025). The only other jockey to have recorded multiple wins in the bet365 Handicap is Ryan Moore (2 wins).

Here are some of the top bet365 Handicap jockey statistics over the last 20 renewals (R = Runners, W = Winners, P = Places including winners, Win LSP is based on 1pt Win and EW LSP is based on 0.5pt Win & 0.5pt Place):

JockeyR-W-PWinEW
William Buick11-3-4+7.75+2.49
Ryan Moore18-2-9+5.00+5.94
Joe Fanning14-1-3-6.50-3.43
James Doyle10-1-2-3.50-4.70
Jamie Spencer10-1-3-6.00-1.24
Silvestre De Sousa6-1-4+3.00+4.34
J F Egan5-1-1+2.00-0.40
Oisin Murphy5-1-2-0.67-1.15
P J McDonald4-1-3+5.00+6.05
Tom Queally3-1-1+38.00+23.00

bet365 Handicap Trend Analysis

✅ The trend factor, which has produced 10+ winners and shows the best LSP, an LSP of +52.58, is when runners had 1 career place on the going.

❌ The worst performing factor that has failed to produce a single winner is when runners ran in a race worth £3k when last winning, when backing these, the trend shows a record of 0-40.

Here are the most recent winning draws, along with the further placings in brackets:

  • 2025: Winner in 8 (1,7) [8 Runners]
  • 2024: Winner in 6 (1,10) [10 Runners]
  • 2023: Winner in 6 (5,7) [12 Runners]
  • 2022: Winner in 1 (8,7) [12 Runners]
  • 2021: Winner in 5 (1,2) [10 Runners]

The course which has produced the most winners of the bet365 Handicap is Ascot; there have been a total of 8 winners of this race who ran at Ascot last time out.

The race is open to both sexes, with the Male runners having produced a total of 20 winners from a total of 245 runners, whilst the Female runners have produced 0 winners from a total of 10 runners.

Looking over the past renewals, these are the stallions whose offspring have produced multiple winners of the bet365 Handicap:

  • Cape Cross (2 Wins)
  • Poets Voice (2 Wins)

These are the stallions whose offspring have not produced a winner of the bet365 Handicap despite multiple attempts:

  • New Approach (0 Wins from 6 runners)
  • Rock Of Gibraltar (0 Wins from 6 runners)

Looking at the winning odds over the last 20 renewals, the biggest-priced winner was Circumvent in 2010, winning for Paul Cole at odds of 40/1 under the guidance of Tom Queally. Looking at the runners at the head of the market over the last 20 renewals, there have been 4 winning favourites in the race. Remember to bookmark the best racing tipsters page so you can get easy access to the best OLBG racing tipsters.

Route to the bet365 Handicap

Many trainers will target races to use as prep races before coming to the bet365 Handicap. These are the races which the recent winners ran in before coming here:

InfoLast Race
2025 - Kings Charter
Doncaster - 1st of 16 (4/1)
Hits Radio Proudly Supports WPCC Novice Stakes
2024 - Involvement
Ascot - 7th of 29 (11/1)
Britannia Stakes
2023 - Killybegs Warrior
Ascot - 11th of 16 (50/1)
Hampton Court Stakes
2022 - New London
Chester - 2nd of 4 (4/11)
Chester Vase
2021 - Dubai Honour
Ascot - 4th of 29 (29/1)
Britannia Stakes
2020 - Zabeel Champion
Newmarket (Rowley) - 1st of 5 (12/1)
Betway Heed Your Hunch Handicap
2019 - Walkinthesand
Sandown - 5th of 8 (7/2)
Matchbook Low Commission Exchange Heron Stakes
2018 - Communique
York - 5th of 6 (4/1)
sunbets.co.uk Handicap
2017 - Marzouq
Goodwood - 2nd of 8 (15/8)
Ladys Newspaper Handicap
2016 - Ode To Evening
Sandown - 6th of 9 (14/1)
BetStars By Pokerstars Handicap

Other Principal races during the Newmarket July Festival

Remember to head to the Newmarket predictions page to see which runner the racing tipsters support in the bet365 Handicap. Below are the other principal races that we cover during the July Festival, with links to each race blog as well as information for last year's winners.

Thursday at the July Festival

The highlight on Thursday, known as Ladies Day, is the Princess of Wales's Stakes, a Group 2 contest over one mile and four furlongs.

RaceLast WinnerInfo
Bahrain Trophy StakesScandinavia (USA)
3yo - 11/8
A P O'Brien
Ryan Moore
July StakesZavateri (IRE)
2yo - 18/1
Eve Johnson Houghton
Charles Bishop
bet365 Sprint HandicapPrince Of India (IRE)
3yo - 7/1
Marco Botti
Marco Ghiani
Princess of Wales's StakesEl Cordobes (IRE)
4yo - 7/2
Charlie Appleby
William Buick

Friday at the July Festival

Festival Friday, as it is known, features the Group 1 Falmouth Stakes, which is part of the British Champion Series and is run over a mile.

RaceLast WinnerInfo
bet365 HandicapKings Charter (IRE)
3yo - 9/4
Charlie Appleby
William Buick
Duchess of Cambridge StakesVenetian Sun (IRE)
2yo - 2/5
K R Burke
Clifford Lee
bet365 Trophy Heritage HandicapOneforthegutter (GB)
6yo - 12/1
Ian Williams
Silvestre De Sousa
Falmouth StakesCinderellas Dream (GB)
4yo - 5/2
Charlie Appleby
William Buick

Saturday at the July Festival

As the name would indicate, 'July Cup Day', the main race on the final day of the July Festival is the July Cup, another race which is part of the British Champion Series; this race is contested over six furlongs.

RaceLast WinnerInfo
Bunbury CupMore Thunder (IRE)
4yo - 6/5
William Haggas
Tom Marquand
bet365 Mile HandicapFifth Column (IRE)
3yo - 4/1
John & Thady Gosden
Ryan Moore
Superlative StakesSaba Desert (GB)
2yo - 6/1
Charlie Appleby
William Buick
July CupNo Half Measures (GB)
4yo - 66/1
Richard Hughes
Neil Callan

Article Contributor Information

We are blessed with an excellent team of specialists and experts at OLBG. Contributing to creating and maintaining this bet365 Handicap Preview are at hand, Andy and James. They both work on the Horse racing tips team team looking after the tipsters and managing the tips settlement, whilst also creating and managing all of the horse racing event previews for Flat Racing.

James Banting

James Banting

Expert Guide

James Banting, a passionate horse racing enthusiast and aficionado, brings a wealth of experience to OLBG, having attended numerous race meetings over the years. His background working with the Jockey Club provides him with a unique insider's perspective on the industry.
Andy Powell

Andy Powell

Expert Guide

Andy, a seasoned horse racing expert with over 15 years of experience, possesses a comprehensive understanding of the sport, from delving into complex statistical data for flat racing in the UK and Ireland to crafting insightful flat racing blogs for OLBG.

No Comments

There are no comments here. Be the first to comment...

Please login or register to reply to this news article
KEEP READING
Ebor Festival Finale Heritage Handicap Preview, Tips, Runners & Trends (Ebor Festival)

Ebor Festival Finale Heritage Handicap Preview, Tips, Runners & Trends (Ebor Festival)

Explore past trends and successful connections in the Finale Heritage Handicap. Discover how key patterns among winners and the influence of trainer and jockey form shape this closing race of the York Ebor Festival.
Continue Reading
Ebor Festival Fillies Heritage Handicap Preview, Tips, Runners & Trends (Ebor Festival)

Ebor Festival Fillies Heritage Handicap Preview, Tips, Runners & Trends (Ebor Festival)

Our Fillies Heritage Handicap blog examines historical winners, trainer patterns, and jockey records to help you spot the likely profiles that emerge from this female-only handicap contest.
Continue Reading
Ebor Festival 3yo Heritage Handicap Preview, Tips, Runners & Trends (Ebor Festival)

Ebor Festival 3yo Heritage Handicap Preview, Tips, Runners & Trends (Ebor Festival)

Get insights into the 3yo Heritage Handicap at York with trends on previous winners, trainer form and jockey influence. Ideal for identifying three-year-olds who match the profile of past champions.
Continue Reading