It’s the second day of the trip to Ireland and time to visit more leading Sky Bet Ebor contenders.
One is owned by JP McManus, another trained by Willie Mullins. It’s Flat racing but not as we know it.
The lure of the £300,000 first prize means the heritage handicap is on many a radar right now and Joseph O’Brien and Mullins are both readying two horses apiece for this year’s renewal.
Let’s start in the Green and Gold and Dawn Rising, winner of the Queen Alexandra at Royal Ascot.
He looks tuned to the minute as he joins the throng of horses parading around his trainer in the all-weather arena before heading up for a morning canter.
York will be a far bigger test of speed than the longest race on the Flat calendar was but that does not concern the trainer – not one jot.
“He’s very well and a very straightforward horse and he’s prepared well. He’s performed well at a mile-and-a-half before, so the trip doesn’t worry me. He’s a very versatile horse. He can lead, he’s lead all the way in the past or can settle in," O'Brien said.
Stablemate Nusret won a race on the Road To The Ebor – at the Curragh. It means he’s guaranteed a spot in the final field. He’s not a certain runner and is likely to be around six pounds out of the handicap if given the green light to run.
But again that does not concern the trainer – not one jot.
“He’s the right type for the race, “ O’Brien enthused. “The big field will suit him; he loves a good pace to aim at and is a strong traveller. He has a live chance. It’s obviously an ask to be carrying six or seven pounds extra but he’s in great nick and I think what’s more important for him is the set up of the race rather than being out the weights.”
From the top of Owning Hill near Piltown to the magical kingdom of Closutton. There, the strongest team of National Hunt horses ever assembled have just returned from their summer holidays.
They’ll slowly work away until the autumn rain arrives and the batallion is gradually unleashed.
But we’re not here to see them – or Vauban who was once on the radar for the Ebor but now instead has secured a place in the Melbourne Cup and bound for the other side of the world.
Yet even in his absence Mullins still has Ebor cards to play – two of them in fact.
Absurde chased his absent colleague home in the Copper Horse Handicap at Royal Ascot, albeit seven-and-a-half lengths adrift. Whisper it but he could be Frankie Dettori’s final ride in the great race and is a potential favourite if John Gosden fails to convince Sweet William’s owner Philippa Cooper that she is in fact an Ebor girl.
He warmed up with a disappointing run in a muddling novice hurdle at Galway – and guess what, it did not concern the trainer – not one jot.
“Absurde disappointed over hurdles at Galway but I didn’t want to run him on the flat again before York and he just got a bit free over that trip but he has come out of the race very well and I’m looking forward to going to the Ebor with him," he said.
“He’s a very keen horse and I said to Frankie at Ascot to make sure he settled him and he took a while to get him settled and he probably ended up a little further back than he wanted to be. But when it came to the business end of the race Frankie said he was just in great shape and got a lovely run through them on the inside. He came through to finish second.
“He probably wouldn’t have beaten Vauban on the day, he was very well handicapped, but that horse has come out and franked the form in a Group Three at Naas last week.
“I think in a race like the Ebor there will be a lot more pace which will make the jockey’s job a lot easier."
Second string to Mullins' bow
Jackfinbar is the second Mullins hope. Here’s a fascinating horse. A Group Three winner for Harry Dunlop in the summer of 2019, he was off the track for four calendar years before resurfacing at Closutton.
He’s had two runs so far for the new team and there was distinct promise at both Roscommon and Galway, particularly from out wide at the latter track last week.
“He ran a little better from a bad draw at Galway and the draw is crucial there. I think it’s a nice place to have your prep run for the Ebor though. Sesenta got beat there before winning at York for us so we’re all set. Fingers crossed they both stay well between now and then.”
As Galopin Des Champs watches our photoshoot with the two Ebor hopes from the sanctuary of his box he might have been having the same thoughts as I was. Willie’s in the Ebor.
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