Best bets for the Yorkshire Ebor Festival – Day Two

Not a great start to the four-days for me on Wednesday with three losing bets. We did get to see the best racehorse in the world right now and wow how good was Baaeed? It would appear the Champion Stakes remains the target and then retirement no matter how much everyone would love to see the colt go for the Arc. I’ve said before I would like to see him go for the Breeders Cup but that would appear even more unlikely than the Arc!  

Anyway, we move on to day two on the Knavesmire and more top-class action up at York.  

Best bets for the racing at York Thursday 18th August  

Meditate was the one I had pencilled in here but she has stayed in Ireland and looks likely to run at the Curragh this weekend. Mawj was second to Meditate in the G.3 Albany Stakes at the Royal Meeting and then came out and won the G.2 6f Duchess Of Cambridge Stakes at HQ. Saeed bin Suroor said: “Mawj came out of her last run well and heads to York in good form. This is another big race for her but she has been going nicely at home and we are hoping for another decent result.” Dramatised is two from two having won the 5f G.2 Queen Mary Stakes at Ascot impressively and steps up a furlong in trip here. She, as Mawj, as a G.2 winner has to give the field 3lb here. The form of the Ascot race has not worked out particularly well since, with runner-up Maylandsea last of eight in the Duchess of Cambridge won by Mawj and in fact, other than The Platinum Queen (now rated 106) that connections have supplemented for the G.1 Nunthorpe later this week off a fly-weight, nothing has come out of the Ascot race of note. At the prices I have gone with Mawj at 9-2 as Dramatised is too short bearing in mind that lack of decent form coming out of the Queen Mary.  

The race of the day on Thursday is at 3.35 the Group One 1m4f Darley Yorkshire Oaks. As I have said before Tuesday has danced every dance and is a tough, reliable and consistent filly. Her run in the Irish Derby was a daring attempt against the colts and she wasn’t disgraced in fourth. She gets 9lb from Alpinista and on OR’s is only rated 1lb lower so on paper at least her chance is there for all to see. Raclette is one I have talked of, and tipped before, and though she got her campaign back on track when winning last time, she hasn’t reached the heights hoped for and looks up against it in this field even with the three-year-old weight-for-age allowance. That said she was supplemented for the mile-and-a-half feature by her Juddmonte connections and won’t be making the trip across the Channel just for a day out. La Petite Coco has been improving and got her season off to a winning start in the G.1 1m2f Pretty Polly at the Curragh. The going is easing but she might want it softer still ideally. The Sir Mark Prestcott trained Alpinista won the Lancashire Oaks last season and was then campaigned in Germany to take three G.1 wins over 1m4f beating subsequent Arc winner Torquator Tasso in the Grosser Preis Von Berlin. She returned to the track in France last month winning the G.1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud and the five-year-old sets the standard. She was second in this in 2020 to Love and on a relatively rare appearance here in the UK she has to be considered. I was interested to read assistant trainer William Butler said: "We've been happy with her preparations and it looks like she's going to get her fast ground, which we feel she's best on.” which you have to take note of her as her last four wins were all on good-soft! I am on at 2-1.  

The 7f OR8Wellness EBF Stallions Nursery is due off at 4.45 and I am on one here. I have tipped One Nation on his last two starts and he has won for me so he is one very much on my radar. The chestnut lost on debut to stablemate Naval Power who is unbeaten in three, including a Listed win, and rated 111 now and on his second start to another subsequent Listed winner in the shape of the unbeaten Dance In The Grass so all the form in the book is pretty solid. To my eyes he is the one in the line-up with Group-class potential and should be backed. Get on at 7-2.  

Be lucky