The opening day of the Ebor Festival takes place at York on Wednesday as four top class days of racing gets underway on the Knavesmire. The Juddmonte International Stakes is the main race on the card on the first day of the meeting. We’ve taken one bet in that and we’re taking a couple in the opener as well.
Special Offer
Sign up to 888sport by clicking the banner below, bet £10 on the opening race of the day (we have two selections for the race lower down this page) and get a £5 free bet on every other race on the card!
1.55 York
Preview
The opening race of the Ebor meeting is a 5 furlong sprint handicap where the bookies are going 10/1 the field. A maximum field of 20 are expected to go to post &, whilst the draw is an unknown, I’m expecting the lower drawn horses to hold sway. There’s 2 I want to keep on side.
Betting
Tommy Taylor is drawn in 11 and hails from a yard that has won this race twice in the last 5 years. He has been campaigned at 6 and 7 furlongs, with today being his first run over shorter. However, I think he’s likely to be suited by the sharper trip. He has twice won at the track, including in Listed company, and has been running well enough in decent company. He was 5th last time at this track in the Sky Bet Dash and is another 1lb lower here. From a yard in good nick & with all ground coming the same, I fancy this 4 year old to go very close.
A more speculative 2nd selection is Gracious John. He’s a top class horse both on turf and the all weather, and has been been going well this term. He won off 1lb lower at Newbury in April & since then has finished 3rd in a Listed race at Haydock & was 2nd last time out at Ascot. This easier track will suit & a low draw looks to be beneficial. The stable is sending just the one up here from South Wales & he looks to hold a good chance in an open race.
Tips
Back Tommy Taylor (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 11.00 William Hill BOG (⅕ odds 1-5)
Back it here:
Back Gracious John (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 21.00 Betfair BOG (⅕ odds 1-5)
Back it here:
[the_ad_group id=”3624″]
3.35 York
Preview
A great renewal of the Group 1 Juddmonte in store. Poets Word is going to be hard to beat but 6/4 is no price considering the strength of the opposition. Benbatl has won 2 Group 1s in his last 3 starts, Without Parole won the St James Palace before running below par at Glorious Goodwood whilst Thunder Snow won the Dubai World Cup last time out, albeit that was almost 5 months ago.
Betting
Of the 3 year olds, Roaring Lion won the Eclipse last time out, narrowly getting on top of Saxon Warrior who was thought to be top class after winning the Guineas. It hasn’t quite panned out that way for him. With those 2 in the first 3 in the betting, I cannot resist a bet on the much bigger priced Latrobe. He won the Irish Derby last time out, beating Saxon Warrior in the process. Previous to that, he’d only won a maiden but was impressive in the Irish Derby. Admittedly he was well placed that day but I’m a little concerned by the pace in today’s race so his prominent style will suit. He’s a galloper so the course will suit albeit there’s a tiny doubt he won’t appreciate the slightly shorter trip. However, he’s still unexposed, on the upgrade & cannot be left out of calculations at the price.
Tips
Back Latrobe (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 21.00 Betfair Sportsbook BOG (⅕ odds 1-3)
Back it here:
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2018
