York Ebor Meeting Preview

Perhaps only second to Royal Ascot, the York Ebor meeting is one of the highlights of the horse racing calendar. Four days of glorious action up in Yorkshire, with a whole host of group races on offer as well as the Ebor handicap, one of the biggest handicaps in racing.

Across the meeting from Wednesday until Saturday there are many stand out races and here is a look at the best of those.

Wednesday – Juddmonte International 

Although only six go to post, and only four appear to hold genuine claims, this could be the race of the week. The Charlie Appleby trained Ghaiyyath heads the market and is three from three so far this calendar year, including when beating Enable by over two lengths last time out.

He’s a rightful favourite, but the challenge is strong and for a bit of value here, he is taken on by Kameko. The Guineas winner won that classic despite it being over the wrong trip for him, he was then out stayed in the Derby before not having the pace for one mile last time out. This 1m2f trip looks to be his ideal and the weight advantage he has by being a younger horse can put him right in the mix.

Friday – Lonsdale Cup

The omission of Stradivarius here opens this race up and if there is one horse who deserves to get his heads in front again then that is Nayef Road. He won a Group 3 at Newcastle at the start of the season and has since finished second behind Stradivarius on two occasions.

Both of those runs were excellent, and had he not bumped into one of the best stayers we have ever seen, Nayef Road would be a Group 1 winner. This is only a Group 2 contest, but he is fancied to get a deserved win in this race.

Friday – Nunthorpe Stakes

Though not appealing from a betting point of view, the feature on Friday is certainly worth watching because Battaash is on the track again. He’s two from two this year, the best sprinter in training and comes here on the back of breaking his own track record at Goodwood last time out.

He’s short in the betting already, but is a class above and can land another Group 1 race on Friday.

Saturday – Ebor Handicap

The race that this meeting is named after, and one of the toughest to solve. A horse that hasn’t had the rub of the green so far this season is King’s Advice. Trained by Mark Johnston, who excels with staying types, this horse is rated a lot lower than he should be because of a few unlucky runs and things going against him.

There are many others in with a chance, but if King’s Advice is on a going day and he can settle better then he has a great chance of dictating this from the front and going close.

York Ebor Meeting Best Bets

• Kameko (Juddmonte International) Win @ 4/1 with Betfred
• Nayef Road (Lonsdale Cup) Win @ 11/4 with 888Sport
• King’s Advice (Ebor) EW @ 25/1 with Betfred