Keith Melrose investigates the dominance of three-year-olds in the July Cup and finds an older horse to consider
Since the introduction of the Commonwealth Cup in 2015, five of the nine winners of the July Cup have been three-year-olds – a sequence Inisherin is favourite to extend.
That could be taken as evidence for the defence of the Commonwealth Cup, which will be lucky to still have its Group 1 status by this time next year. Unfortunately, the connection would be a bit of a stretch.
Going back to 1970, 25 of the 54 winners of the July Cup have been three. With that sort of background strike-rate, getting five out of any given nine is no worse than a 6-4 chance.
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