Whilst Group 1 stars dominated days 1 to 3 at the Ebor Festival, Saturday sees the leading staying handicappers handed their chance to shine as a field of 22 goes under orders for the Ebor Handicap.
The richest race of its type on British shores is invariably one of the biggest betting races of the week and makes for a thrilling spectacle. However, the Group 3 Strensall Stakes and Group 3 City of York Stakes ensure fans of high-class action are also well catered for. Here, we pick out our three bets as this exceptional fixture draws to a close.
1:50 Sky Bet Strensall Stakes, 1m1f, Group 3
We kick things off in a cracking renewal of this 1m1f Group 3 affair. The 2024 Qatar Goodwood Festival is the obvious place to start when analysing this race, with five of the first six in the market heading here following a run at the Sussex showpiece.
The market has latched onto Andrew Balding’s See The Fire, and it’s easy to see why, with the Sea The Stars filly having run a cracker to go down by just a head to Opera Singer in the Group 1 Nassau Stakes. Down in class and slightly in trip, she merits the utmost respect.
Roger Varian’s Enjfaar emerged as one of the big hard-luck stories from the Goodwood Festival. The 2024 John Smith’s Cup winner faced an impossible task when trapped out wide on the turn but flew home to go down by just a neck. This is a step up from handicap company, but the son of Lope De Vega is improving rapidly and may prove up to the task.
By Frankel and out of the 1000 Guineas winner Special Duty, Ralph Beckett’s Task Force could scarcely make more appeal on paper. Kicking off his career with back-to-back wins at Salisbury and Ripon, he rounded off his juvenile season with a fine second to Vandeek in the Group 1 Middle Park Stakes. He’s zero from three this season but has run pretty well to finish seventh in the 2000 Guineas and Jersey Stakes. His Goodwood effort saw him finish a closing third in the Bonhams Thoroughbred Stakes, having been trapped in a pocket against the inside rail as the leaders kicked for home.
Phantom Flight and Haunted Dream are the other Goodwood runners in the line-up. The former should appreciate this drop in trip, having faded close home over 1m4f in the Glorious Stakes, whilst the latter arrives on the back of a career-best win in the Bentinck Conditions Stakes but will need to find further improvement in this company.
Of those who skipped Goodowood, the Owen Burrows-trained Alyanaabi appeals most, having finished a solid fifth in the St. James’s Palace Stakes. However, he was no match for Phantom Flight last time at Newbury and looks short enough at the prices.
It's a competitive heat, but our vote goes to the regally bred Task Force. But for trouble in running, we feel he would have gone very close to landing the Bonhams Thoroughbred Stakes, and the time of that race stacks up well against that of the Nassau.
Recommended Bet: Task Force each way to win at 7/1 with BetVictor
3:00 Sky Bet City Of York Stakes, 7f, Group 2
Having finished first and second – separated by just ½l – in the 2023 edition, Kinross and Audience dominate the betting for the 2024 renewal.
Kinross became the first dual winner of the race when getting up late 12 months ago and bids to land the hat trick. A true 7f specialist, he has scored eight times over this intermediate distance, including twice in Group 1 company. However, he is currently behind in Audience in the market.
John & Thady Gosden’s five-year-old is out on his own at the head of the betting, having seemingly taken his form to new heights in 2024. An impressive winner of the Group 1 Lockinge Stakes on his seasonal return, he won for the fourth time over this trip when cruising home in the Lennox Stakes last time, with Kinross 5l adrift back in third. However, he isn’t the most consistent sort; sandwiched between those two outings was an 8½l fifth in the Queen Anne Stakes – a horse he had previously beaten in the Lockinge.
One of the hottest trainers in the sport headed into York, William Haggas failed to hit the target on the opening two days of the meeting, with all eight of his runners finishing unplaced. That’s a disappointing return, but he has a solid chance of getting back on track with the improving Lake Forest in this event. The 2023 Gimcrack winner has performed with credit in two outings this season – finishing an unlucky in running second in the Commonwealth Cup and again filling the runners-up spot in the Hackwood Stakes. Stepping up to 7f for the first time, he may prove dangerous if able to sustain his finishing effort.
Audience is the one to beat on ratings but is priced accordingly and isn’t a horse we are particularly keen to back at skinny odds. Whilst he beat Kinross last time, that Goodwood contest was a strange event with Audience and Art Power doing their own thing in front with the rest of the field clustered around five lengths back into the straight. As such, Kinross did well to see off those around him and didn’t lose any ground to Audience on the run to the line. Back at a track which suits him so well, he can win the race for the third time.
Recommended Bet: Kinross to win at 3/1 with bet365
3:35 Sky Bet Ebor Handicap, 1m6f, Class 2
Just the 22 go to boast in the signature handicap, with the stamina-sapping contest attracting a maximum field once again, including a host of intriguing contenders from the Emerald Isle.
Aidan O’Brien’s Queenstown is among those making the trip across the Irish Sea and currently sits atop the market. There can’t be too many more thankless tasks for a racehorse than attempting to keep tabs on staying sensation Kyprios in his homework, but that is the duty Queenstown fulfils at Ballydoyle. Poor old Queenstown hasn’t had any respite at the track either, with his past two outings seeing him finish second to the Ascot Gold Cup king. However, that form gives him rock-solid credentials as he drops into handicapping company for the first time – he would certainly be unfortunate to run into anything approaching his stablemate’s level of ability here. A mark of 107 places him towards the head of the weights, which doesn’t make life easy, but he’s a must for the shortlist.
Having come in for strong support during the week, the David O’Meara-trained Epic Poet is the shortest-priced British runner. A Listed class winner in France, he failed to catch fire when with Freddie & Martyn Meade but appears to be enjoying life at the Yorkshire yard of O’Meara. His best efforts came when finishing well for fifth over 1m2½f at this track in July and filling the runners-up spot in 1m4f Duke Of Edinburgh Stakes at the Royal Meeting. A mark of 100 looks fair, but he needs to prove he stays this far.
Vauban’s Lonsdale Cup victory provided another demonstration that Willie Mullins is a man to be feared wherever he shows up. Having won the 2023 edition with Absurde, Mullins sends German recruit Hipop De Loire into battle this time. Yet to race in Britain, his form is difficult to assess, but a Listed class win in Germany augurs well, and he shouldn’t lack for fitness, having warmed up with a runners-up effort in a hurdle at the Galway Festival on his debut for the yard.
As is generally the case, a few of these bring strong hurdling form to the table. Henry De Bromhead’s Magical Zoe finished fourth in the County Hurdle, whilst Burdett Road chased Sir Gino home in the Grade 2 Triumph Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival and boasts solid slat form, including a third to Passenger in the Group 3 Winter Hill Stakes.
Moving further down the list, Andrew Balding’s Fairbanks arrives at the top of his game, following a win at the July Meeting and a narrow second to the highly regarded Align The Stars at Goodwood. However, he remains on a career-high mark, and Align The Stars' Lonsdale Cup flop did little to advertise the form.
The William Haggas-trained Naqeeb may have more room for manoeuvre off his current mark. Looking ahead of his rating when enjoying no luck in the Copper Horse handicap, he went down by just a head at Newbury last time and remains relatively unexposed in this sort of race.
Northumberland Plate winner Onesmoothoperator and Kevin Ryan’s Forza Orta are others to note at big prices, but the one we like best is the horse who finished seventh in the 2023 edition.
Hailing from the yard of Jessica Harrington, Yashin is a smart performer over this distance, having landed a Group 3 at Leopardstown in May 23. He didn’t handle the all-weather in the Northumberland Plate but had previously finished only 2¾l behind Kyprios and 1¾l off Queenstown at Leopardstown and is 2lb better off with the O’Brien runner here. Looking back at the 2023 race, he went down by only three lengths off this mark of 105 despite missing the break and being checked in the straight. Throw in the facts that the ground was quicker than ideal that day and that he may improve on his first start since a wind-op, and he looks cracking each-way value in the feature.
Recommended Bet: Yashin each way 33/1 with bet365
Paul Harrison
Falling in love with racing at a young age, Paul’s passion for sports and betting took him to Salford University, where he obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Business Economics with Gambling Studies. Having spent ten years in the employment of a leading bookmaker, Paul opted to go it alone and pursue his dream job as a freelance writer.
