SPRINT connoisseurs will be licking their lips in anticipation for potentially the race of the season so far, this afternoon's £200,000 six-furlong July Cup at Newmarket.

Twenty electrifyingly fast thoroughbreds face each other in a true clash of titans for which a small each-way bet on Misraah (3.05) is recommended.

Sir Michael Stoute is always to be feared in this type of Group 1 contest and there's no doubting the blistering form of the selection, an impressive runaway winner of a five- furlong Listed race at Sandown last Saturday.

The good news is that Misraah is even better over six furlongs, but on the downside against such an immensely strong field, it would be absurd to become too dogmatic about a race packed with the cream of Europe's speed stars.

Paul Cole is the master of laying a horse out for a big handicap, pointing directly to the prospects of Camberley (3.40) in the following £50,000 Bunbury Cup.

As always, it's a fiercely-competitive event. However, if Cole has, as I anticipate, produced his charge at concert pitch, there can be only one winner - Camberley.

At Folkestone, the remarkable six-year-old mare Ella Falls (1.55) makes plenty of appeal in the opening Division One of the two-mile Kent Veg Handicap.

She's a former point-to-point scorer and not many racehorses who manage to graduate from racing in that low-level sphere win on the Flat, a feat Ella Falls achieved with relative ease at Musselburgh last time out.

Best bet at Epsom's evening meeting is Samara Song (7.30) in the Scottish Equitable Handicap.

The Ian Williams-trained miler has despite only finishing eighth on both of his previous two outings actually performed with tremendous credit.

In the first of those two races, he was denied a clear run at Beverley. It was then down to Salisbury where the first ten home could have been covered by a large horse blanket.

One of the most improved three-year-olds of the entire campaign, Zandeed (7.45), bids to complete a four-timer in the Newey & Eyre Classified Stakes at Doncaster.

Ed Dunlop's gelding enjoys winding the pace up from the front, tactics the opposition find difficult to deal with since every time Zandeed is challenged for the lead, he seems to pull out that little bit extra.

In the later mile-and-a-quarter Halifax Handicap, Siena Star (8.15) can shrug off three lack-lustre runs.

Not only was he a useful juvenile, winning a fairly warm nursery at Newmarket, Siena Star also has the scope to supplement that success once he hits form this term.

* Catterick's meetings on Wednesday, July 18, and Wednesday, July 25, have been cancelled due to the continuing foot-and-mouth restrictions.

It is hoped that racing at Catterick will resume on Tuesday, August 7.

Following the cancellation of fixtures at Carlisle and Catterick, replacement meetings will now be held at Newcastle on July 18, Chepstow on July 20, Warwick on August 1, Nottingham on August 6, and Musselburgh on August 22.