Dubai Future Champions Festival Prediction and Odds

The Dubai Future Champions Festival at Newmarket Racecourse, is a two-day festival that will see many compete in top flat races.

It will be held across Friday, October 9, and Saturday, October 10, although with races taking place in the UK, many will be held in the early hours of the following morning for Aussies.

Let’s take a look at some of the races and top picks…

Quick Picks

Our pick: Musical Times to win

Value bet: Darkness Falls to win

Long shot: Folsom Blues each-way

Betting Preview

The Fillies’ Mile (Group 1) is the feature race on Friday, scheduled for 23:57 AEST. It is a key race for two-year-old fillies, run over a mile. The going is said to be good to firm, which could affect which horses are considered legitimate contenders.

The championship race is also viewed as an early pointer to next season’s 1,000 Guineas and other top races because of the quality of the horses that compete. The race has produced several fillies who went on to Classic success.

On Saturday (local time), the Darley Dewhurst Stakes (Group 1) is considered the feature race of the day, scheduled for 00:00 AEST on Sunday for Aussies. 

It is contested over 7 furlongs, features two-year-old colts and is one of the season’s leading tests of the juvenile generation.

It’s considered one of the biggest tests for two-year-olds, as they must handle a straight seven furlongs and show enough speed and class to compete at the top level.

Betting Markets to Watch

Musical Times is the clear favourite in the Fillies’ Mile, as she’s unbeaten in three starts. Her 7½-length win in the Group 2 May Hill Stakes at Doncaster makes her a popular choice, with that race contested over a mile.

She’s trained by Charlie Appleby, who has one winner and two placings out of seven past Fillies Mile runners.

Offering much more value would be Haven each-way. 

The odds have shortened for the two-year-old, perhaps partly due to victory in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Fillies Maiden in September, and partly because trainer Aiden O’Brien has history with 6 winners and 14 placings out of 28 past runners in this race.

In the Dewhurst Stakes, the betting odds are a little closer ante-post than in the Fillies’ Mile. Desert Castle is considered the slight favourite in this one, with Darkness Falls slightly longer.

Desert Castle is Appleby’s unbeaten colt who won a Newmarket maiden, then followed up in the Group 2 Champagne Stakes at Doncaster by three lengths.

He has already shown he can handle seven furlongs, and Appleby indicated the Dewhurst was his next target. However, he has only had two starts and never raced in a Group 1.

Aidan O’Brien’s Darkness Falls is a colt who has won twice over a mile, including the Group 1 Golden Fleece Stakes by more than four lengths. That is high-class form that makes him a legitimate contender.

The biggest issue is that he has been racing over a mile, so dropping back to seven furlongs could be a challenge as he will need to start quickly.

Our Prediction

Check the latest horse racing betting odds at Sportsbet.

Our top pick is Musical Times, with value in Darkness Falls .

Our long shot is Folsom Blues in the Dewhurst Stakes. He has the strongest Group 1 form, including a six-length victory in the seven-furlong National Stakes at the Curragh on September 13.