Young guns head July contenders

Market leaders Iffraaj and Soldier’s Tale head 26 confirmed entries for next Thursday’s Darley July Cup at Newmarket.

The rising stars of the sprint game will be contesting a Group One race for the first time.

The Michael Jarvis-trained Iffraaj has been campaigned exclusively in handicap company this year and was a convincing winner of the Wokingham Stakes at Royal Ascot at York last time out.

Soldier’s Tale, trained by Jeremy Noseda, has won both his starts this term and last time out showed a blistering turn of speed to take the Group Three Chipchase Stakes at Newcastle.

Ashdown Express and Balmont, second and third behind Frizzante in last season’s six-furlong showpiece, are set to try again and they could be joined by triple-Group One winner Somnus.

Among the three-year-olds standing their ground is Camacho, who would be attempting to give Henry Cecil a first Group One victory since the year 2000, as well as Richard Hannon’s Galeota, beaten a head into second in the Golden Jubilee Stakes on his last run.

Keeneland Swan is due to represent Japanese trainer Hideyuki Mori, who sent out Agnes World to scoop the 2000 July Cup.

Aidan O’Brien has left in Airwave and Ad Valorem, though the latter is pencilled in for the Prix Jean Prat at Chantilly tomorrow.