How bearing the Cheltenham Gold Cup in mind can point you to the July Cup winner

Associating sprinters with longevity might be as easily applied to road cycling as Flat horseracing at the moment. After a revitalised Mark Cavendish on Friday drew level with the legendary Eddy Merckx for the record number of stage wins at the Tour de France, the July Cup looms into view and with it a recent phenomenon that gives it some unlikely common ground with the Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Both races are much kinder to younger horses than received wisdom might have it. Just as Gold Cup winners tend to do it on their first attempt or not at all, since the July Cup moved from Friday to Saturday ten years ago only one winner had previously run in the race.

Admittedly, of the 19 declared runners this year only defending champion Oxted and two big outsiders (Brando and Glorious Journey) have run in the race previously. What it hints towards is the direction of travel in the sprint division.