Published 24 September 2026. Analysis and views here are our opinion,
not a guarantee of anything. 18+, please gamble responsibly.
26 September 2026 – 26 September 2026 · Newmarket Racecourse, Rowley Mile · UK time
Newmarket’s Rowley Mile stages one of the densest cards of the entire Flat season on Saturday 26 September, and the two races drawing the most attention are both Group 1 tests for two-year-olds: the Tattersalls Sceptre Sessions Cheveley Park Stakes for fillies and the Tattersalls Middle Park Stakes for colts. Both carry serious black type for next year’s Classic generation, and the Cheveley Park in particular has resolved into a genuine three-horse fight rather than a one-horse procession.
Cheveley Park Stakes: three fillies with a real claim
Six fillies were declared on Thursday, and three of them dominate the betting. Sun Goddess has won her last four for Aidan O’Brien, a run that takes in Group 1 wins in the Phoenix Stakes and Moyglare Stud Stakes plus a runaway success in the Harry’s Half Million By Goffs at York. Senorita Bonita, trained by Simon and Ed Crisford, beat Libertango by three-quarters of a length in the Duchess Of Cambridge Stakes here in July and then beat the colts in the Prix Morny at Deauville. Libertango won the Albany at Royal Ascot in June and got back to winning ways in the Lowther Stakes at York in August. Alwaysanangel, Moonrise and Snowing complete the six, with Star Of State and Controlla not declared.
Middle Park Stakes: the market leaders stay at home
The Middle Park changed shape at declaration time. The top two in the betting, Great Barrier Reef and Folsom Blues, were both left out of Thursday’s final field, even though Aidan O’Brien had described 2/1 favourite Great Barrier Reef as an intended runner earlier in the week. O’Brien runs Marco Polo and the blinkered Confucius instead. That leaves a field of seven. Michael O’Callaghan’s unbeaten Push The Boat Out, who beat Great Barrier Reef by a neck in the Round Tower Stakes at the Curragh while receiving five pounds, now has the best form in the race on paper. Charlie Appleby’s dual winner Inner City Blues and Clive Cox’s Norfolk Stakes winner Orthodox head the home team, Robson De Aguiar’s Force Noir is the other Irish-trained runner, and Adrian Keatley’s Hell Of A Spin completes the septet.
What looks the smart angle
The Cheveley Park market has moved a long way since the Morny. Senorita Bonita was a 6/1 shot in William Hill’s August betting; by the five-day stage Paddy Power and Sky Bet had her joint favourite with Sun Goddess at 6/4. On declaration day the betting reported by Racing TV had Sun Goddess a marginal 6/4 favourite, Senorita Bonita 7/4 and Libertango 4/1. We hold no deal with either of those books, so those prices do not link out, and we could not source a current William Hill, Betfred or Virgin Bet price to put in a market box here. Check each partner’s own racing page before you back anything.
On the form, the case for Senorita Bonita is that the Morny is the strongest single piece of form in the race, beating colts in a Group 1, and she already has Libertango beaten. The case for Sun Goddess is four straight wins including two Group 1s. With barely a quarter of a point between them, there is little price edge either way, which makes Libertango at around 4/1 the one to think about for anyone who rates the Lowther win and expects the two market leaders to take each other on up front. In the Middle Park, the defections leave Push The Boat Out as the one with the proven Group-class form line, having already beaten the absent favourite, while Inner City Blues is unbeaten and has yet to be asked a hard question. Any of this is opinion and analysis, not a certainty, and non-runners on the day can still change a field at this level.
Elsewhere this week
The same Saturday afternoon also carries the Cambridgeshire Handicap at Newmarket, one of the most competitive big-field handicaps of the back end of the season. Football fans have plenty to watch too: England host world champions Spain at Wembley that evening, while the wider Nations League programme runs across the same week.
The offers worth having before racing starts
Ad: Three sportsbook welcome offers work on horse racing as well as football. William Hill’s bet £10, get £30 in free bets has the lowest bar: stake £10 or more at odds of 1/2 (1.5) or better and you’re on for £30 in free bets once it settles, which any of the Cheveley Park big three clears. Betfred’s bet £10, get £50 in free bets is the biggest headline figure but needs a qualifying bet at Evens (2.0) or bigger, so a 6/4 favourite would qualify and a short-priced favourite would not. Virgin Bet’s welcome offer pays £20 in free bets plus 2 x £5 Bet Builder tokens for a £10 deposit and a £10+ bet at 1/2 or better.
Fancy something between races? Virgin Bet’s 100 free spins on Eye of Horus pays spin winnings as cash with no cap for a £10 wager, and William Hill’s 50 free spins on Mining Pots of Gold needs a £10 stake, with the spins lasting 24 hours and winnings capped at £30.
Whichever filly or colt you fancy on Saturday, claim the William Hill offer here before the first race goes off.
