The weights are out for the £500,000 Sky Bet York Ebor Handicap on the Knavesmire on Saturday August 20 and our Ben Linfoot picks out a shortlist of six for the race.
The early favourite - EARL OF TYRONE
Hugely progressive, one from one at the trip and allotted a should-get-in-towards-the-bottom-of-the-weights rating of 103, it’s no wonder Earl Of Tyrone is the one the bookies want to keep onside.
Paddy Twomey’s horse burst onto the Ebor radar when bolting up in the Sky Bet Race To The Ebor Handicap at the Curragh over 1m6f on June 1, before cementing his York credentials when accounting for the 110-rated Raise You in the Listed Martin Molony Stakes at Limerick when most eyes were on Royal Ascot.
The son of Australia looks a strong galloper who should be well suited to the test the Ebor provides and his rapid upward curve may not have stopped climbing yet, so it’s no wonder he’s 7/1 favourite with the sponsors.
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The fascinating stable switcheroo - CLEVELAND
'The Lads' have likely sent Cleveland to Joseph O’Brien for a Melbourne Cup tilt but it’s still an interesting dynamic that he’s received a verging-on-top-class horse from his old man while the horse is peaking at four.
Whether he goes to Melbourne via York remains to be seen and perhaps we’ll learn more if he runs in the Group 3 Ballyroan Stakes (Earl Of Tyrone also an early entry) at Leopardstown on Thursday evening, a race Joseph won with Latrobe a few years ago before his second Melbourne Cup assignment.
Cleveland’s form is red-hot, as he beat subsequent dual winner Coltrane in the Chester Cup and then looked a tad unlucky behind Get Shirty at Royal Ascot, a horse who went on to land the Old Newton Cup off a 6lb higher mark.
The Haggas hotpot – CANDLEFORD
William Haggas has an exceptional record on the Knavesmire but he is yet to win the biggest handicap at the track and he could try to amend that statistic this year with a trio of likely contenders.
Hamish and Gaassee will have their supporters but Candleford could be worth forgiving a below-par run at Newmarket’s July Festival where he made no impression in the heritage handicap bet365 Trophy won by Soapy Stevens.
That came just three weeks after his six-length Royal Ascot romp over Ajero and that quick enough turnaround looks a more viable reason for his reverse than simply the 13lb hike in the weights.
Sky Bet Ebor Handicap - NRNB - Paying 5 places instead of 4
- Saturday 20th August 2022 15:35
- Distance: 1m 5f 188y
- Each way terms: 1/5 for first 5 places
Selected odds (correct 1420 BST on 20/07/2022, click link for up-to-date odds)
Click here for Sky Bet's latest Ebor Handicap prices
- Earl Of Tyrone - 7/1
- Cleveland - 10/1
- Candleford - 10/1
- John Leeper - 16/1
- Licence - 33/1
- Calling The Wind - 20/1
The York eyecatcher - JOHN LEEPER
It seems a long while since John Leeper was sent off 8/1 for the Cazoo Derby under Frankie Dettori given his three-year-old campaign somewhat went off the rails after that heavy defeat at Epsom.
However, there have been promising moments since he was stepped up in trip in a hood at four, especially when he ran second to Without A Fight over the Ebor course and distance in the Sky Bet Grand Cup Stakes at York on June 11.
If he was unsuited by how that race panned out a three-runner affair against the same rival at the same track in the John Smith’s Silver Cup the following month was totally against him and he might just thrive back at York in this race with a proper gallop to take aim at.
The eyebrow-raising entry – LICENCE
Ger Lyons trained Mustajeer to be fourth in the Sky Bet Ebor the year before he won it so any entries from the County Meath handler are of interest and especially when they are as lightly-raced as son of Frankel, Licence.
A full brother to Andre Fabre’s recent Group 2-winning filly Raclette, Licence has only had the three runs but showed loads of promise on his first two starts before flopping in the Group 2 Mooresbridge Stakes when last seen in May.
He was sent off 100/30 for that assignment and was clearly thought better than a handicapper, so he’s firmly on the radar off a mark of 103 with odds of 50/1 being dangled.
The up your sleeve soft option - CALLING THE WIND
As we crawl out of a record-breaking heatwave there’s a whiff of thunder in the air which is a timely reminder that the heavens can open in style on the Knavesmire at any time of year.
With that in mind I want one horse proven on soft ground on the shortlist and Richard Hughes’ Calling The Wind fits the bill nicely given he loves a big-field staying handicap, too.
Second at Royal Ascot and Doncaster’s November handicap in soft ground, he’s been running well on faster conditions this summer but interest in him would heighten if the heavens opened in the build-up to the Sky Bet Ebor.
Sky Bet Ebor Handicap weights
Tashkhan (IRE) 4 10-3
Hamish (GB) 6 10-1
Coltrane (IRE) 5 9-13
Quickthorn (GB) 5 9-13
Away He Goes (IRE) 6 9-12
Get Shirty (IRE) 6 9-12
Living Legend (IRE) 6 9-12
Camorra (IRE) 5 9-12
Enemy (GB) 5 9-12
Raise You (IRE) 6 9-12
Thunderous (IRE) 5 9-12
Baron Samedi (GB) 5 9-12
Tax For Max (GER) 5 9-12
Max Vega (IRE) 5 9-11
Alignak (GB) 6 9-11
Fancy Man (IRE) 4 9-11
Wordsworth (IRE) 4 9-10
Jason The Militant (IRE) 8 9-9
Ever Present (IRE) 6 9-9
John Leeper (IRE) 4 9-9
Okita Soushi (IRE) 4 9-8
Master of Reality (IRE) 7 9-8
Global Storm (IRE) 5 9-8
Road To Arc (FR) 5 9-8
Cleveland (IRE) 4 9-8
Tasman Bay (FR) 4 9-7
Universal Order (GB) 6 9-7
Mandoob (GB) 4 9-7
Rodrigo Diaz (GB) 5 9-7
Raymond Tusk (IRE) 7 9-6
Candleford (IRE) 4 9-6
Dean Martini (USA) 5 9-6
Garden Paradise (IRE) 5 9-6
Licence (GB) 4 9-5
Earl of Tyrone (IRE) 4 9-5
Gaassee (IRE) 4 9-5
Alounak (FR) 7 9-5
Calling The Wind (IRE) 6 9-5
Euchen Glen (GB) 9 9-4
Rajinsky (IRE) 6 9-4
Benaud (IRE) 4 9-4
Hms Seahorse (IRE) 4 9-3
Midnights Legacy (GB) 5 9-3
Shanroe (GB) 8 9-3
Alright Sunshine (IRE) 7 9-3
Quenelle d'Or (GB) 4 9-2
M C Muldoon (IRE) 7 9-2
Spirit Mixer (GB) 4 9-2
Law of The Sea (GB) 4 9-2
Juan de Montalban (IRE) 4 9-1
Morando (FR) 9 9-1
Not So Sleepy (GB) 10 9-0
Dark Jedi (IRE) 6 8-13
Marshall Plan (GB) 4 8-13
Inchicore (IRE) 5 8-13
Trawlerman (IRE) 4 8-13
Charging Thunder (GB) 4 8-13
Contact (IRE) 4 8-12
Micro Manage (IRE) 6 8-12
Alfred Boucher (GB) 6 8-12
Sam Cooke (IRE) 6 8-12
Moktasaab (GB) 4 8-11
Marching Army (GB) 4 8-10
Gold Maze (GB) 5 8-9
Lot of Joy (IRE) 4 8-9
Valley Forge (GB) 4 8-9
Farhan (IRE) 4 8-9
Cemhaan (GB) 5 8-8
Moving Light (IRE) 5 8-8
Solent Gateway (IRE) 4 8-8
Pearl Beach (GB) 5 8-8
Zoffee (GB) 6 8-8
Ajero (IRE) 7 8-7
Infrastructure (GB) 7 8-6
Star Caliber (GB) 4 8-6
Evaluation (GB) 4 8-6
HMS President (IRE) 5 8-6
Tashi (IRE) 5 8-6
Sir Rumi (IRE) 4 8-5
Echoes In Rain (FR) 6 8-3
Uber Cool (IRE) 8 8-2
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