Andrew Asquith has one selection in the Great St Wilfrid at Ripon on Saturday in his latest ante-post column.
Weekend View: Saturday August 15
1pt e.w. Lord Roxby in the Great St Wilfrid Ripon at 10/1 (Sky Bet, Paddy Power, Betfair 1/4 1,2,3,4)
Sky Bet odds | Paddy Power | Betfair Sportsbook Betfair Sportsbook
The Sky Bet York Ebor Festival starts next week, featuring top-class racing throughout the four days and, as a result, we have one of the lesser Saturday’s quality-wise this coming weekend.
There is still the prestigious William Hill/MND Association Great St Wilfrid Handicap to get stuck into, however.
It is often a frenetic race where the draw can have an effect, but looking through past renewals, it doesn’t really matter if you are drawn low or high, with more or less an equal amount of winners coming from either high or low births in the last 10 years.
The pace often holds up well, also, and I like horses who have previous course or course and distance winning form given the unique nature of the track.
Taking all that into account it is LORD ROXBY who tops my shortlist following his convincing defeat of Dark Cloud Rising over course and distance 12 days ago.
He wasn’t drawn as well as the runner-up on that occasion, but showed sharp early speed to get across to the stand-side rail and, what impressed me more was how he went away again at the finish as it briefly looked like he had a real fight on his hands.
Indeed, Dark Cloud Rising traded as short as 1.12 in-running on Betfair, but Lord Roxby proved very strong at the finish once headed, fighting back with real courage and looking very strong as he crossed the line.
He will be 4lb worse off with the runner-up if they meet again on Saturday, but that shouldn’t be enough for him to reverse the form, and Lord Roxby has a more progressive profile anyway.
His previous form this season has worked out well and he arrives an in-form sprinter who still looks fairly treated.
I will be covering Matt Brocklebank’s Value Bet column again on Friday so will be back with more selections for the weekend in what is a tricky week for ante-post wagering.
Preview posted at 15:30 BST on 11/08/2026
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