The Cambridgeshire Meeting might be behind us, but Newmarket has another huge weekend of racing on the way.
The Dubai Future Champions Festival takes place on Friday 9th and Saturday 10th October, bringing together some of the most exciting two-year-olds in Britain and Ireland for two days on the Rowley Mile.
There are nine Group races across the meeting, including two Group 1s: the bet365 Fillies' Mile on Friday and the Darley Dewhurst Stakes on Saturday.
We've taken an early look at the ante-post markets for both races and picked out the horses that have caught our attention.
Fillies' Mile 2026 ante-post tip
Our pick: Musical Times
Current price: around 5/6
She's certainly no secret, but it's difficult to start anywhere other than Musical Times.
Charlie Appleby's filly is unbeaten after three starts and produced what's easily been her most impressive performance yet when stepping up to a mile for the May Hill Stakes at Doncaster earlier this month.
She travelled strongly into the race before powering clear to win by seven and a half lengths.
That was the widest winning margin in the May Hill this century, while Timeform described it as the best performance in the race for many years.
More importantly for this race, we've already seen this route work.
Recent May Hill winners Inspiral and Desert Flower both went on to win the Fillies' Mile, while Desert Flower subsequently landed the 1,000 Guineas the following spring.
Musical Times has also already won at Newmarket, having made a successful debut over seven furlongs here in June. She's now three wins from three starts.
The current price of around 5/6 obviously isn't going to appeal to everyone, but on what we've seen so far, she looks the one they all have to beat.
FILLIES' MILE TIP: MUSICAL TIMES
Check Musical Times' latest Fillies' Mile odds →
FRT Exclusive Boosted Odds on Musical Times
FRT members can get an exclusive boosted price on Musical Times.
So, if you fancy our selection for the Fillies' Mile, you can back her at better odds than the standard price currently available!
With Musical Times unbeaten in three starts and arriving off that hugely impressive seven-and-a-half-length May Hill victory, the boost gives us an even better reason to have her on side at Newmarket.
GET THE EXCLUSIVE BOOSTED ODDS ON MUSICAL TIMES →
Who could challenge Musical Times?
One particularly interesting name in the market is Sun Goddess, currently around 13/8.
Aidan O'Brien's filly has already won three Group 1 races this season and produced another huge performance at Newmarket on Saturday, winning the Cheveley Park Stakes in a track-record time.
That victory came over six furlongs, but she had previously won the seven-furlong Moyglare Stud Stakes at the Curragh, and O'Brien believes the step up to a mile shouldn't be an issue.
The obvious concern is her schedule.
The Cheveley Park came just 13 days after the Moyglare, and the Fillies' Mile would represent another fairly quick turnaround. She's also entered in the Prix Marcel Boussac at Longchamp on 4th October, so her route needs watching carefully before getting involved ante-post.
Green Empress and Maire Rua, both around 10/1 at the time of writing, are the next two in the betting.
View the latest Fillies' Mile odds →
Dewhurst Stakes 2026 ante-post tip
Our pick: Desert Castle
Current price: around 7/4
Saturday's big Group 1 is the Darley Dewhurst Stakes, and another exciting unbeaten youngster heads the market.
Desert Castle is currently around 7/4 after winning the Champagne Stakes at Doncaster earlier this month.
That performance pushed him to the head of the early betting for next year's 2,000 Guineas and he's now also favourite for the Dewhurst.
The seven-furlong Dewhurst should provide a much sterner examination, but that's exactly what makes this race so interesting.
It's traditionally one of the biggest tests of the leading juvenile colts in Europe, with previous winners including Frankel, Churchill, Dawn Approach and St Mark's Basilica.
Desert Castle has already shown he belongs towards the top of this year's juvenile division and, at this stage, he's our pick to come out on top again at Newmarket.
DEWHURST STAKES TIP: DESERT CASTLE
Check Desert Castle's latest Dewhurst odds →
Dewhurst Stakes contenders
The biggest danger according to the early market is Darkness Falls, currently around 4/1.
He arrives with a major reputation after an impressive victory at Leopardstown earlier this month and currently sits towards the head of the ante-post betting for next year's Derby.
Folsom Blues is next at around 5/1, before the market opens up considerably.
Monogram is around 12/1, Great Barrier Reef 14/1 and the likes of Sharadd and Wall Street can be found at around 20/1.
There are still plenty of horses entered at this stage, though, so this is one market that could change significantly before raceday.
View the latest Dewhurst Stakes odds →
What is the Future Champions Festival?
Newmarket's Dubai Future Champions Festival is a two-day meeting specifically designed to showcase some of the best young Flat horses around.
The 2026 meeting takes place on the Rowley Mile on Friday 9th and Saturday 10th October.
There are nine Group races over the two days, culminating in Saturday's Dewhurst Stakes.
And with the likes of Frankel, Churchill and St Mark's Basilica appearing on the Dewhurst roll of honour, there's always a chance we'll be watching a horse that goes on to become one of the stars of the following season.
Friday 9th October preview
Friday is headlined by the Group 1 bet365 Fillies' Mile, run over a mile for two-year-old fillies.
That's far from the only quality race on the card.
The Cornwallis Stakes over five furlongs, Oh So Sharp Stakes over seven furlongs and Challenge Stakes over seven furlongs all provide Group-race action before the Fillies' Mile.
The Old Rowley Cup, a valuable mile-and-a-half handicap, follows the Group 1.
So while the Fillies' Mile is undoubtedly the headline act, there's plenty worth following throughout Friday afternoon.
GET THE EXCLUSIVE BOOSTED ODDS ON MUSICAL TIMES →
Saturday 10th October preview
Saturday is officially Dubai Future Champions Day, with four Group races on the card.
The action includes the Group 3 Darley Stakes, Group 3 Zetland Stakes and Group 3 Autumn Stakes before the main event, the Group 1 Dewhurst Stakes at 3.00pm.
And even after the Dewhurst, there's another massive betting race to come.
Cesarewitch Handicap 2026
The Cesarewitch Handicap takes place at 3.40pm and provides something completely different from the juvenile Group races.
Run over two miles and two furlongs, it's one of the longest and most competitive Flat handicaps of the season and forms the second half of Newmarket's traditional Autumn Double alongside the Cambridgeshire.
There are still 74 horses listed at this stage, with a maximum field of 32 set to line up.
Beylerbeyi currently heads the ante-post market at around 5/1, followed by Kirchner at 10/1 and Valedictory at 14/1. Cock And Bull, Galileo Dame, Mountain Road, Reverend Hubert, Sea Lantern and The Reverend are all around 16/1.
With such a huge field still entered, we'll leave our final Cesarewitch selections until closer to raceday.
View the latest Cesarewitch odds →
Our early Future Champions Festival verdict
The two Group 1 favourites both look difficult to get away from at this stage.
Musical Times is our early Fillies' Mile selection after that hugely impressive seven-and-a-half-length May Hill victory.
For Saturday, Desert Castle gets our vote in the Dewhurst Stakes following his Champagne Stakes success at Doncaster.
There are still nearly two weeks until the festival, so plenty can change before then, particularly with such large entry lists still in place.
We'll take another look once the final fields begin to take shape.
In the meantime, remember to check today's free horse racing tips here for our latest selections.
