2026 Virgin Bet Celebration Mile: runner-by-runner guide and tip

Son of Too Darn Hot defied top weight to win last year’s Cambridgeshire and has run consistently well since on all six of his subsequent starts.

Last seen finishing a neck second behind Galen and half a length ahead of Jonquil in the 1m1f Conditions Stakes at the Glorious meeting here, he is likely to give another solid account of himself (he also won the Listed Festival Stakes here in May).

The suspicion is this easy mile is slightly short of his optimum these days, though a strong pace is likely and he is one of several potential front runners.

Has plenty to find on both ratings and form after a fruitless, albeit consistent campaign so far this year.

His best efforts came at Royal Ascot, where he was fourth in the Hunt Cup, and Sandown, where he finished third in the Coral Challenge. Would be a surprise winner.

Lambourn handler Ed Walker has had a fantastic season so far and is just a few winners behind last year’s total tally.

Fast Tracker looks unlikely to add to that list of victories, however, as he failed to beat a rival home at Saint-Cloud back in early March on his stable debut and has not been seen since. Conditions look likely to be on the soft side, however, which should be in his favour.

Emerged the best horse from the Festival Stakes here in May over a mile and a quarter, finishing a short-head behind Boiling Point whilst conceding 3lb.

With form figures of 212 at the track, he tends to save some of his best performances for the Sussex Downs, though this will be his first race over a mile here having inly raced over 1m2f so far. He does, though, hold solid each-way claims back here, having finished a close up fifth in the Summer Mile at Ascot last time.

Five-year-old produced a huge upset when winning the Sussex Stake at 150-1 last year over this course and distance, though he has only won once since, when running out a comfortable winner of the Criterion Stakes at York in June.

His ninth last time out in this year’s Sussex was a touch disappointing given his record at the track previously was 1114 but this is a drop in class and it would be a surprise if he is not thereabouts if he brings his A-game.

Last year’s Thoroughbred Stakes winner over course and distance could only manage tenth in the Sussex Stakes, but there were medical reasons for that performance, and he is better judged on his gallant win in the Diomed Stakes in June and third in the Summer Mile last month.

Ground versatile, he holds leading claims if bouncing back to his best and is second top-rated according to Timeform, just 1lb below favourite Zavateri. He handles soft ground, too.

Well beaten in the Valiant Stakes at Ascot a month ago, better can be expected from Arisaig here with her yard now in better form.

However, she still has plenty to find on her best pieces of form from this season, where she has finished second in a mile handicap at the Craven meeting, plus finished fourth over this course and distance behind Blue Bolt in the Conqueror Fillies’ Stakes.

She ran a cracker to finish third in this race last year and gain her first piece of black type, but it is hard to see her improving upon that position.

The lightly-raced four-year-old has won three of her eight starts, including the Snowdrop Stakes at Kempton in March and bounced back from a no show in the Princess Elizabeth Stakes at Epsom to finish third, just three and quarter lengths behind Kon Tiki, in the Valiant Stakes at Ascot last month having made much of the running.

This demands plenty more, though she has performed well with the word soft in the going description and the forecast looks far from dry.

He looks the leading player on form having finished fifth in both the Sussex Stakes and City Of York Stakes this summer, with the former effort coming after a 102-day injury-enforced absence after beginning his season with a second in the Greenham.

His juvenile campaign saw him land the July Stakes, the Vintage Stakes at this course, and the National Stakes at the Curragh, all over seven furlongs, but this extra furlong may be more to his liking now having looked undone by the speedy test on the Knavesmire last week.

The quick turnaround is a slight worry, but this step down in class could be the key to regaining the winning thread.

The only three-year-old in the race, ZAVATERI looks to hold outstanding claims of making it a hat-trick of wins for the Classic generation following Ice Max in 2024 and Jonquil in 2023.

There is a chance this could turn into more of a stamina test than usual, in which case Seagulls Eleven is likely to handle conditions better than most, whilst the consistent strong staying Naqeeb can outrun his odds and round out the places.

1 ZAVATERI. 2 SEAGULLS ELEVEN. 3 NAQEEB.