BRIAN Ellison is hoping Onesmoothoperator can become the first Yorkshire-trained winner of the Sky Bet Ebor since he sent out Moyenne Corniche to land the famous handicap, back in 2011 under Dale Swift.
For the latest renewal of the mile and three-quarters race, now the richest flat handicap in Britain at £500,000, Malton-based Ellison will saddle his 2024 Northumberland Plate hero, Onesmoothoperator.
The six-year-old gelding went through the gears at Newcastle, powering away to score by two and a half lengths.
Ellison said: “He’s quite similar to Moyenne Corniche. He stays and he’s got a good turn of foot. Probably, Onesmoothoperator would be quicker. Ground would be a key. He wouldn’t want it too soft or anything.
“He worked yesterday – he’s in great form. He’s had an easy time since the Plate. We’ve learnt that he doesn’t need a lot of galloping and he likes his races spread out a bit.
“He was quite keen when we first got him. Mark Brown rides him every day and gets on well with him. He actually goes up there on a long rein now.”
Onesmoothooperator, who is 16/1 for the Ebor with big race sponsors Sky Bet, is campaigned predominantly on the all-weather. But Ellison points to a third-place effort at Ascot in 2022 and also, in the same season, a run just over four lengths behind subsequent Melbourne Cup winner, Without A Fight, at York as evidence that the horse is adaptable.
He said: “His form might say that he’s better on the all-weather, but he has run well on grass. Where would I put him? I’m not saying he’s going to win, but I think he’ll be thereabouts.”
Ellison’s charge Tashkhan, also has an entry in the Sky Bet Ebor, having finished mid-division in the 2023 renewal on a good to firm surface.
The trainer added: “Tashkhan is very ground-dependent – soft-heavy – but he might go for the Lonsdale (the Group 2 Weatherbys Hamilton Lonsdale Cup will be staged on Friday, 23 August at York).”
He is also planning to bring two-year-old speedster Perfect Part to the Ebor Festival – “either the Lowther or the Julia Graves” – while Jayvee is under consideration for the sensory-junction.co.uk Autism Awareness handicap on August 22.
“It’s a great meeting, a fantastic meeting,” said Ellison. “I think any Yorkshire trainer would tell you, York’s the best. You need to be there. And luckily enough, we’ve had three winners there this year…Tolstoy has won there three times.”
As for Moyenne Corniche, Ellison looks back fondly on the staying star that gave him one of his best days as a trainer.
“He was a grand horse, wasn’t he,” said Ellison. “Winning an Ebor was fantastic.”
The four-day Sky Bet Ebor Festival commences on Wednesday, 21 August when the £1.25million Juddmonte International Stakes will be staged. All of the other 27 races at the festival carry six-figure prize funds.
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