IT’S Super Saturday. And it’s not just this year, it’s not just because Louth are playing in the All-Ireland semi-final for the first time in 69 years.

It has been Super Saturday since the year that they moved the July meeting from Wednesday-Thursday-Friday to Thursday-Friday-Saturday, and parachuted the July Cup in on top of the John Smith’s Cup at York and the Summer Mile at Ascot. (And the City Plate Stakes at Chester if you like.)

At least it will all be over by 6.00pm throw-in.

The Al Basti Equiworld, Dubai July Cup is fascinating, rendered so by the fact that the protagonists have stood their ground.

Venetian Sun is the logical favourite, the Commonwealth Cup winner who was so impressive in winning the Sandy Lane Stakes at Haydock on her last run before Royal Ascot. But the ground was on the easy side in the Sandy Lane Stakes, and Division got closer to her at Ascot than he did at Haydock. He may get closer again today.

Venetian Sun only got home by a neck from Royal Fixation when she landed the odds in the Duchess of Cambridge Stakes at this meeting last year on her only run to date on the July Course. She may well win again today, but she is probably shorter than she should be.

Division is a player, and Mission Central is a player, Aidan O’Brien’s horse came with a superbly well-timed run under Ryan Moore to get up on the near side and land the King Charles III Stakes at Royal Ascot last time, and this easy six furlongs could suit him even better than Ascot’s stiff five did.

Make a case

The first and second from the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot, Almeraq and Satono Reve, are also set to line up, as is the seventh Commanche Brave, and you can make a case for all three.

Almeraq just got home by a nose in the end, and Satono Reve has been put in at a shorter price, but it may be that Almeraq is still busy re-discovering his metier after that horror fall at York last September.

When he ran at Ascot, he was racing for just the second time since. He could come forward again from that, he could confirm placings with Satono Reve and Comanche Brave, and he is a danger to all.

That said, Double Rush could be the value of the race. Andrew Balding’s horse has to make the jump now from handicap company into a Group 1 race, but history tells us that there is often not that much between the top sprint handicappers and the group-race sprinters, and he may not be that far behind them.

The Blue Point colt has been ridiculously progressive this season. He won a handicap at Newmarket’s Craven meeting off a mark of 90 and he followed up at the Guineas meeting off a mark of 95.

Then he went to Royal Ascot and he won the Wokingham off a mark of 105.

Interestingly, More Thunder also won those handicaps at the Craven meeting and the Guineas meeting respectively, before just getting beaten in the Wokingham off a mark of 98, 7lb lower than the mark off which Double Rush won it. At this meeting last year, More Thunder won the Bunbury Cup off a mark of 98, and he followed up by winning the Group 2 Hungerford Stakes.

This season, More Thunder has proven himself to be a Group 1 horse. He finished second in the Lockinge Stakes, and he did even better in the Queen Anne, just going down by half a length to Ten Bob Tony. He is a deserving favourite for the Group 2 Summer Mile at Ascot today.

A 5lb hike for his Wokingham win brings Double Rush up to a mark of 110, which still leaves him with 9lb to find on official ratings with the top-rated horses. But he is progressive enough to give himself the potential to find that level of improvement, now that he is stepping into Group 1 company for the first time.

He has never run on the July course, but he is three for three on Newmarket’s Rowley Mile, a track that has many similar characteristics to the characteristics that the July course possesses.

Interestingly, the Jubilee and the Wokingham were run on the same day at Royal Ascot, over the same course and distance. Almeraq was faster in winning the Jubilee than Double Rush was in winning the Wokingham, but only by 0.15secs, and Double Rush was carrying 4lb more. He is within range, and he looks over-priced at 9/1 or 10/1.

John Smith’s Cup

Iron Fist looks over-priced too in the John Smith’s Cup at York. Jessica Harrington’s horse did well to get as close as he did in the 10-furlong handicap that Perry Mason won at the Curragh on Irish Guineas weekend, coming from back in the field, as he did, in a race in which it was an advantage to race prominently.

That was a theme that ran strongly at the Curragh on Irish Guineas weekend, and it was accentuated in that 10-furlong handicap by a moderate early pace. The winner’s finishing speed, according to RaceiQ, was over 112% of overall speed.

The first two home in the race were first and second from early, and the other four horses who, with Iron Fist, filled the first five places, were all in the first five passing the four-furlong marker. Iron Fist was 12th at that point. He finished off his race strongly, he was fastest of all through the final three furlongs of the race.

He is unexposed over 10 furlongs too. Winner of his maiden over a mile at Killarney around this time last year, he has gone beyond nine furlongs just four times in his life, and his record when he has done reads 2123.

His two wins have been on soft ground, and he probably wouldn’t want the ground to be flint-fast, but he goes well on good ground, and he could out-run his odds by a fair way.

Iron Fist, 3.45 York 28/1 (Paddy Power) or 25/1 (Sky Bet, William Hill) or 22/1 (generally), 1 point each-way

Double Rush, 4.35 Newmarket, 10/1 (Paddy Power, William Hill) or 9/1 (generally), 1 point win