Sky Bet York Ebor Festival review: David Ord on some of the talking points

Aidan O’Brien and Coolmore roll on

It was ever thus. Three Wednesday Group wins incorporated a career-defining Juddmonte International triumph for City Of Troy (well UK and Ireland wise at least), an Acomb success for The Lion In Winter that catapulted him to Classic favouritism and Los Angeles defying a penalty to win the Sky Bet Great Voltigeur which has floored many before him.

Then Content, on her own against the far rail, galloped to victory in the Pertemps Network Yorkshire Oaks to give Galileo a 100th individual Group One winner.

The late, great, stallion has been the catalyst of the trainer’s domination over the last two decades, now Justify prepares to pick up the baton for the next two.

O’Brien already has the favourites for next year’s 1000 and 2000 Guineas, Derby and Oaks and there’s a raft of unraced bluebloods heading to the racecourses in the autumn.

He’ll take some shifting.

Watson gets it right again

While Hollie Doyle grabbed plenty of headlines after the success of Bradsell in the Coolmore Wootton Basset Nunthorpe Stakes, it also marked another significant feather in the cap for his trainer.

Archie Watson is showing a sure touch at the big meetings and his team have done a wonderful job with this speedball who was a brilliant winner of the King’s Stand Stakes last season before things went against him at York and the Curragh.

And injuries, as Ben Linfoot assessed in his piece from here on Friday, there have been plenty of those to contend with.

The rebuild began in a Listed race at Deauville earlier this month and a belated winning seasonal reappearance, with provisional Timeform performance ratings showing he improved six pounds to run to a career-best 124 on Friday.

That’s the art of training racehorses, peaking them on the big days. A job very well done.

Warm reception for new facilities

The Queen officially cut the ribbon to open the new Southern End Development at York at 1pm on Saturday but the new facilities had already been hailed a huge success by racegoers.

When it comes to multi-million pound enhancements, the grandstand and paddock enclosures aren’t always high on racecourse executive’s priority list but the team at the Knavesmire have got this one right.

The Bustardthorpe Development contains plush new bars, food outlets and toilet facilities plus a newly created 900 sqm Churchill Tyres Lawn and Canopy, which was full of racegoers listening to a live band and watching the action through the afternoon and early evening.

In a day and age when venues have to fight harder than ever for a share of the leisure pound, and against the backdrop of at best stagnating at attendances, this is a bold and positive move from York.

Where are the stayers?

At 9.59 on Thursday it looked as though the Sky Bet Ebor might not even fill but as the clock ticked down Kevin Ryan confirmed Forza Orta and the cap was reached.

By Saturday lunchtime we’d lost Not So Sleepy and Alfred Boucher and were down to 20.

It’s staggering to think there aren’t a host of horses queuing up to line up in a £500,000 handicap, with a ticket to the Melbourne Cup awaiting the winner too.

Is the staying division in the UK and Ireland this thin? Well it's thinner that it once was but a big factor too is the bloated race programme. Why, for example, is there a £100,000 handicap at Hamilton on the Thursday evening of Ebor week, taking horses from the available pool?

Then there’s the Racing League which continues to limp along with good prize-money but little if any mainstream cut-through or interest. Heralded as a gateway to the great game for a new audience, it increasingly looks to be shuffling towards the exit door like so many initiatives before.

Some argue the Ebor is paying a price for becoming so competitive – and restricted - in recent years. In 2023 for example the rating band ranged from 109 to 95 – a stone covered all 22 horses.

This year, it’s 108 to 86. Maybe that will encourage others to roll the dice in 2025, or at least hang in there a little longer just in case.

Many bemoan the fact three-year-olds are barred from the race. The fear was the sort of rating a member of the Classic generation would need to be operating at to get in would potentially take runners away from a Sky Bet Great Voltigeur or races of that ilk.

And when British trainers can only muster three six-day entries and two runners in this year’s renewal of the opening day Group two - it's abundantly clear that particular cupboard is creaking and bare itself.

And then you look at the ten Group One races run over a mile-and-a-quarter or further so far in the UK this year. How many have been won by the home team?

None.

Plenty of food for thought.

Ebor talk for Tabletalk?

As there was after the Sky Bet Melrose, won by Tabletalk, too.

He's an upwardly mobile three-year-old who performed with credit thrown in at the deep end when tenth in the Betfred Derby.

Saturday was his first race at a mile-and-six and the way he galloped to the line to cut down the Ballydoyle hare The Equator proved he not only stays but relishes it.

In winning he secured a berth in next year's Sky Bet Ebor - but if recent evidence is anything to go by, a place at the top of every shopping list in Australia too.

For the last three winners of the race are all there - or at least destined for Down Under.

That's the case with Middle Earth, who has had a European spring and summer campaign before heading to the southern hemisphere for their autumn riches.

2022 hero Soulcombe is already there and proving very effective, finishing second in last season's Melbourne Cup while 2021 victor Valley Forge also made the trip to Australia having never raced again in the UK.

Tom Clover will be keeping everything crossed that Tabletalk stays safely tucked away in Newmarket and he said of the win: "That was extremely pleasing. He looked the winner the whole way round. He'd been shaping up nicely at home and he seems to be improving. I was thrilled to see him handle the ground so well, as that was a slight question mark for me, and he stayed on strong over the trip.

"He's a very exciting prospect. It's great for the whole team at home who've worked very hard. He ran in the Derby and that was a really tough experience so we gave him a bit of time, he's a big horse and I think he'll make up into a lovely four-year-old.

"He has a very patient owner who let me train him where we wanted to go. He ran a very good race at Ascot last time and he's come to himself nicely."

Close but no cigar for Appleby juveniles

Frustrating would be a better word than bad for Charlie Appleby's Sky Bet Ebor Festival. He was light on runners this week, three in total and all two-year-olds, but to have both Ruling Court and Shadow Of Light beaten will have been…well frustrating.

The former was sent off an even-money favourite for the Acomb and found both The Lion In Winter and Wimbledon Hawkeye too good. It’s still early days though for the 2.3million euros breeze-up buy who looked so exciting on debut at Sandown.

He was noticeably edgy in the preliminaries at York and the latest run still represented about a stone of improvement from the Esher race according to Timeform numbers.

And Shadow Of Light’s Al Basti Equiworld Gimcrack Stakes second to Cool Hoof Luke also signalled improved form from his two previous wins. He lacked the gears to land a telling blow but stayed on well to stake second late on.

He’ll be up to seven furlongs next time no doubt but two big aces in the juvenile pack for the Moulton Paddock team returned home without their unbeaten records despite producing career-best performances.

City Of York wait to go on

York have a long-stated ambition to upgrade the Sky Bet City Of York Stakes to Group One status. It would be the first race at the distance for older horses to be given such a grading in the UK and hopes were high that they would gain the elevation for this year's race.

The European Pattern Committee disagreed and said 'non' so the fight goes on.

You can understand the frustration given the race's ratings over recent years had already reached the required standard.

But in 2024 fate conspired against them.

Kinross was a morning absentee, second favourite Lake Forest withdrawn after being unruly in the stalls and Lockinge and Lennox hero Audience having an off-day.

In the end it was left to 33/1 chance Breege to fend off Vafortino (22/1). The winner had an official mark of 104, the runner-up 105.

The race will be back to it's previous heights, I have no worries on that score, but the elusive Group One status, it might have been delayed on Saturday.

Team Quinn prove crack shooters

You tend to think of the top northern yards throwing the kitchen sink at the Sky Bet Ebor Festival.

It's their big week and anything they can run tends to be in a box on the A64 at some stage over the four days.

Maybe John and Sean Quinn only had two options for the week - or maybe they just chose wisely.

For as they made the short trip home on Saturday evening they did so with a 100% strike-rate.

Two runners, two winners, JM Jungle and Breege. Simples as someone said on an advert somewhere.

And terrific work.

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