Oisin Murphy won the Sky Bet Ebor on Litigant in 2015 and outlines his thoughts on a few of the potential challengers in 2021, several of which he's ridden.
Leading contenders...
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- Live Your Dream 8/1 (Sky Bet)
- Tribal Craft 14/1
- Quickthorn 16/1
The Sky Bet Ebor is always a fantastic race and one that brings back great memories having won it for trainer Joseph Tuite in 2015 and there are lots of horses entered up this year that I've ridden on their last starts, or in the past.
Saeed bin Suroor's Live Your Dream deserves to be favourite, though he might go for the Geoffrey Freer on Saturday and it sounds like all options remain open at the moment.
The Andrew Balding-trained Tribal Craft won at York earlier in the year and she ran a stormer behind Wonderful Tonight in the Lillie Langtry on Saturday and she's improving.
We've changed the tactics riding-wise with her, we're taking our time with her now, and she really likes following horses and picking them up late. The ground is key to her and she wouldn't want it too fast.
Hughie Morrison's Quickthorn obviously won very well at Royal Ascot, he didn't really act in the John Smith's Silver Cup at York last time but he's having a freshen up at the moment and you'd think he'd go to the Ebor with a chance.
Also in the picture...
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- Urban Artist 16/1
- Rodrigo Diaz 25/1
Hughie (Morrison) also has Urban Artist who is another who was second at Goodwood over the weekend. She's definitely an improver and I thought she ran very well on heavy ground in the handicap on Saturday. She's thriving from run to run and certainly York could be on the agenda for her.
The David Simcock-trained Rodrigo Diaz would be very interesting if he sneaks into the race. He's been running well since winning over a mile and a half at Doncaster in June and if he got in he'd be one you'd have to be worried about.
Two more to consider...
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- M C Muldoon 16/1
- Blue Cup 20/1
Everyone knows Willie Mullins has a fantastic record when bringing horses over and M C Muldoon looks like he might be one heading for the Ebor.
I think this horse is an improver based on his close second to Reshoun in the Ascot Stakes at the Royal meeting in June.
David Menuisier's Blue Cup is a horse I rode to victory at Epsom on Derby Friday and I thought he ran very well at Ascot (fourth in the Wolferton).
He's a decent horse and better than he was able to show at Newbury last time. I feel a race like this would suit him more as they'll go a decent pace which will allow him to relax and finish off.
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