Magical Zoe stars in Ebor for Henry de Bromhead but race marred by fatal injury to Crystal Delight - day four at York as it happened
Summary
- Magical Zoe justifies favouritism in the £500,000 Ebor
- Favourite backers get off to a flyer as See The Fire lands the Strensall Stakes
- Breege causes a big upset in the Group 2 Sky Bet City of York Stakes as Audience is well beaten
- Tom Clover on the scoresheet with Tabletalk in the Melrose
CopySummary
- Magical Zoe justifies favouritism in the £500,000 Ebor
- Favourite backers get off to a flyer as See The Fire lands the Strensall Stakes
- Breege causes a big upset in the Group 2 Sky Bet City of York Stakes as Audience is well beaten
- Tom Clover on the scoresheet with Tabletalk in the Melrose
Welcome to Ebor day
A fabulous week on the Knavesmire draws to a close today, with the £500,000 Sky Bet Ebor (3.35) the feature race of the day.
Five of the last ten Ebor winners were trained in Ireland and five of the 20 runners in contention for today's race have travelled across the Irish Sea to York.
Aidan O'Brien has enjoyed a sensational week at York and Queenstown is bound to be popular for the master trainer.
Lockinge hero Audience heads the market for the Group 2 Sky Bet City of York Stakes (3.00), while Group laurels are also up for grabs in the opening Strensall Stakes.
Dry start in Yorkshire
The southern half of Britain might be getting a good soaking but it's been a dry night and morning in York and the going remains good to firm, good in places.
Clerk of the course Anthea Leigh said: "We had a dry night, cool and it's been overcast this morning with no wind like we had yesterday thankfully.
"We remain good to firm, good in places. There's plenty of juice in the ground and the jockeys said that yesterday although the times were quite quick again on Friday. I'd say that also comes down to the wind and the quality on show.
"We might catch a little bit of rain in a passing shower between noon and 2pm but after that it'll brighten up."
Key absentees
No rain means no Kinross in the Sky Bet City of York Stakes (3.00) and as a result market leader Audience has gone odds-on for the Group 2 contest.
The field for the Sky Bet Ebor (3.35) has been reduced to 20 with old warrior Not So Sleepy taken out due to the ground and Alfred Boucher withdrawn due to a knocked joint.
Pearl Of Windsor in the Listed Julia Graves Roses Stakes (4.45) is the other non-runner on the card.
Non-runners
3.00 4 Kinross (going)
3.35 15 Alfred Boucher (knocked joint)16 Not So Sleepy (going)
4.45 16 Pearl Of Windsor (going)
Road to glory?
Burdett Road is the horse for money in the Sky Bet Ebor, according to Paddy Power.
A Grade 2 winner over hurdles at the end of last year, he's a previous winner at Royal Ascot and a big-field handicap could be ideal for a horse who can race keenly in his races.
Paddy Power spokesman Paul Binfield said: "James Owen suffered the frustration of missing out on a Triumph Hurdle challenge with Burdett Road but so far punters are siding with him against the top two in the market to win this illustrious prize."
Paddy Power market movers
150 Enfjaar 7-2 (from 4)
2.25 Dramatic Star 9-2 (from 5)
3.35 Burdett Road 9-1 (from 10), Naqeeb 10 (from 11), Sea King 10 -1 (from 12), Ziggy 16-1 (from 18)
4.10 Elmonjed 9-2 (from 11-2)
Puzzle pointers
Harry Wilson has been on the scoresheet at York this week and is back again with a selection for every race in Cracking The Puzzle.
Harry is sweet on Epic Poet in the Ebor and writes: "He hasn't been with David O'Meara long, but he produced a fine effort to finish second to a subsequent Group 3 winner in the Duke of Edinburgh at Royal Ascot in June and followed that with an eyecatching fifth in the John Smith's Cup when last seen. This longer trip promises to suit and he has a nice weight.
Queenstown in focus
Aidan O'Brien has enjoyed a sensational week at York, highlighted by City Of Troy's tour de force in the Juddmonte International, but his big hope for the Ebor does not boast your average profile for a race of this nature.
As Lee Mottershead highlights in today's Racing Post, the Galileo four-year-old's principal role to date has been that of pacemaker to Kyprios, who regained his Gold Cup crown after being led by Queenstown through trial events at Navan and Leopardstown. This time Queenstown – the mount of James Doyle due to Ryan Moore heading instead to the Curragh – switches from being the servant to the star. The Ebor gives him his chance to shine.
Perhaps surprisingly, O'Brien has bagged the Ebor only once, back in 2001 when Mediterranean became the last three-year-old winner, with members of the Classic generation are no longer permitted entry to the famous handicap.
Phantom ready to take flight
Phantom Flight is the big mover on the undercard at York. Trainer George Scott can do little wrong this season and was on the mark with Prydwen at Killarney last night.
Phantom Flight was a close third in the Group 3 Glorious Stakes last time and is all the rage for the Group 3 Sky Bet Strensall Stakes at 1.50.
Lee Phelps from William Hills said: "Away from the Ebor, the best-backed horse at York on day four is undoubtedly Phantom Flight in the Strensall. George Scott’s five-year-old is into 11-2 (from 10/1) as it seems people expect him to get back to winning ways."
Scott's view
George Scott seems happy about Phantom Flight dropping back from a mile and a half to 1m1f today but reckons the market mover in the Strensall Stakes will need a career-best to triumph.
“We’re really looking forward to running him back over this trip,” Scott said. “I’ve been really pleased with him since his last run. He's a course winner, and the longer distance found him out at Goodwood last time out.”
He added: “It is the strongest race he will have run in, but both the track and ground are positives. He will need a career-best to get involved so it will be interesting to see how he fares.”
Check out our Strensall Stakes preview here.
Group 1 target
Believing, who ran a screamer on the wrong part of the track to finish second in yesterday's Nunthorpe, is heading for the Group 1 Flying Five Stakes at the Currgah on September 15 next.
Reporter David Carr caught up with George Boughey after the run and the Newmarket trainer said: "The Flying Five has been the plan for a long time and I'm very proud of her. She's dancing every dance and I hope she'll pop up at some point.
"As we discussed before, she probably was on the wrong side. And she just gets a bit outpaced at that crucial point. Nothing really took her into the race properly. It was a lovely ride from Ryan Moore and she was getting there with each stride."
Find out which other Nunthorpe runners are heading to the Curragh next here.
Pricewise's picks
Tom Segal has four selections for this afternoon's action at York, including a recent winner in the Sky Bet Constantine Handicap (4.10).
Tom wrote: "Dare To Hope did really well to win the Great St Wilfrid last week as he shot clear of those racing on his side of the track and did really well to pick up the high-class sprinter Ramazan, who was racing on the other side. Prior to that run he'd shaped really well in the Stewards' Cup from a bad draw and even better over this course and distance, when one of the best of those drawn high.
"Stall three has looked good this week and, provided Oisin Orr can obtain a clear run, Dare To Hope can win another valuable sprint handicap for the second week running."
Members' Club subscribers can find Pricewise's tips here.
Ebor market update
Epic Poet and Queenstown are both relatively weak at the head of the market for the the Sky Bet Ebor.
Favourite now with the race sponsors is Magical Zoe at 6-1 (from 9-1). Trainer Henry de Bromhead already has a Gold Cup, Champion Hurdle, Champion Chase and Grand National on his CV and punters think he can add the Ebor to that list today.
Burdett Road and Naqeeb remain solid at 17-2 and 10-1 respectively, while at bigger prices Crystal Delight and Yashin have been supported.
Eustace eyes up Ebor
Harry Eustace went close with Time For Sandals in Thursday's Lowther and the trainer's two runners in the Ebor, Crystal Delight and Ziggy, have attracted support this morning.
On his chances of scooping the £300,000 first prize, Eustace said: "It was a bit of a non-event for Crystal Delight at Newmarket last time. He won well on his previous start at York and his running style suits the track. He has plenty of size and scope and, based on what we’ve seen, he should stay the trip.
"Ziggy has also won at York and goes there in good form. He’s entitled to take his chance. Judged on his breeding, he should stay."
>>>Ebor preview
Dreaming big
The Ebor is not all about the might of Aidan O'Brien, Willie Mullins, William Haggas and Henry de Bromhead.
Wise Eagle, a winner in 12 of his 35 races, attempts to defy a career-high mark and give his small stable a lucrative success in this £500,000 handicap.
The star of Adam Nicol’s 13-strong yard, Wise Eagle contested the Group 1 Gold Cup at Royal Ascot last year after finishing second to Coltrane in the Group 3 Sagaro Stakes.
He has taken his trainer and owners, The Seahouses Syndicate, on a memorable journey, and it could get even better on the Knavesmire.
"Wise Eagle is in great nick and he ran arguably the best race of his career last time when third in a York Group 3," Nicol said.
"Unfortunately, the handicapper stuck him up 4lb, but you can’t have everything. I can still recall him upsides Coltrane on the bridle turning in at Ascot in the Sagaro Stakes last year.
"He’s a very good horse, and I think he’ll go well in the Ebor. They’ll go quick, and he should get a lovely tow into the race."
Wise Eagle is a general 40-1 to complete a fairytale success.
Feel the force
Task Force is the horse for money in the opener at 1.50. Ralph Beckett's horses have been running well all week and Task Force could well go off favourite around 3-1.
He's only run six times in his career and has never raced beyond a mile, so he's unexposed in every sense heading into this.
He's going to have to settle at this new trip but even after racing a little keenly when third at Goodwood last time, he was still keeping on at the line after being a touch short for room two furlongs out and races in a tongue-tie for the second time.
A royal presence
York has been graced by royalty this afternoon with the Queen here to officially open the new Bustardthorpe development.
She'll be keeping a close eye on the Melrose (2.25), in which her runner Reaching High, trained by Sir Michael Stoute, is around a 7-1 shot.
1.50 York: full result
1. See The Fire 3-1 fav
2. Phantom Flight 7-1
3. Checkandchallenge 33-1
See The Fire takes the Strensall Stakes
He had come from an unpromising position but Oisin Murphy found the gaps on See The Fire who looked good value for her win in the opener.
Murphy's view
After winning the opener, Oisin Murphy told ITV Racing: "She didn't need to be three wide so I elected to come back and she travelled sweetly. It turned into a sprint in the straight, and she saw the final furlong out well. Hopefully there's more to come."
Murphy said the ground was quick with a headwind in the straight, while See The Fire was cut to 6-1 (from 10) with Paddy Power for the Sun Chariot Stakes.
Focus on the Melrose
The three-year-old version of the Ebor, the Melrose (2.25) has thrown up some real stars in recent seasons with classy performers like Hamish, Coltrane and Middle Earth making up three of the last five winners and today's royal runner Reaching High is certainly bred to be a star as he is by the outstanding sire Sea The Stars and his dam is Estimate, who famously won the Gold Cup for the late Queen Elizabeth II in 2013.
Favourite a negative
Favourite Dramatic Star looks very unhappy down at the start for the Sky Bet Melrose Handicap.