Ebor Festival Eyecatchers: Five horses worth adding to My Stable tracker
Matt Brocklebank identifies five horses from Ebor Festival week who may have slipped under the radar that will be worth backing when returning to action.
GIOTTINO
5th - Curragh, Saturday - 2.20 Irish Stallion Farms EBF Maiden, Curragh
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And like that, it was gone.
The Bug of Ballydoyle has been extinguished following a hugely successful weekend for Aidan O'Brien.
If there was a concern that the current Classic crop of colts just haven't lived up to expectations, then it's worth a reminder that O'Brien did saddle the QIPCO 2000 Guineas winner, and in Kew Gardens has the 9/4 favourite for the William Hill St Leger next month.
The 2019 battalions are now filing into line and standing proud in front rank is Anthony Van Dyck after leading home a Futurity Stakes 1-2-3 for the team at the Curragh on Sunday.
A little over 24 hours earlier, Ten Sovereigns entered the frame, sprinting to a wildly impressive seven-length victory under Donnacha O'Brien and catapulting himself into consideration for every future race you could think of (the Commonwealth Cup springs to mind for the son of No Nay Never at this very early stage).
We're not making money following him for the remainder of the season, but it will be very surprising if this race doesn't produce a handful of future winners and a close eye must be kept on the winner's stablemate, fifth home Giottino.
A sizeable son of the ill-fated Scat Daddy, he was 20/1 and ridden by Michael Hussey but after coming under pressure around halfway he began to get the idea and ran on nicely under tender handling.
O'Brien's runners are always sharper for their first start (just how good could Ten Sovereigns be?!) and Giottino definitely looks one to have on side, for all he's hardly going to be missed in the market if pitching up for a similar race of its type.
It wouldn't be a shock if he developed into the second-best horse in this race, which should be enough for him to win more than his share.
Remember the name - @Ballydoyle have Group 1 targets in mind for Ten Sovereigns, impressive winner on debut at @curraghrace yesterday... pic.twitter.com/cO2UIZ4jxm
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) August 26, 2018
HEART OF GRACE
8th - York, Saturday - 2.25 Sky Bet Melrose Handicap
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Stratum was the biggest and most obvious eyecatcher of the week in the Sky Bet Ebor and the one firm (Hills) who have made him 10/1 favourite for the Cesarewitch must be bracing themselves for a flood of interest as soon as that target is confirmed.
We can leave him be without such knowledge to go to war with and instead the one to note from Saturday is Melrose also-ran Heart Of Grace.
She was ultimately well held in eighth but there was only four and a half lengths between first and William Haggas' lightly-raced filly and she faced a tough task coming from near the back of the field.
Runner-up Supernova and sixth Corgi also made up good ground late on but the others to the fore were there throughout and the effort of Heart Of Grace, who was having her first start in a handicap and was wearing cheekpieces for the first time in public, can be marked up.
Her Group One entry on Champions Day is fanciful but this performance suggested she's a stayer who retains potential in quality handicaps and this big-day experience won't be lost on her going forward.
SANGARIUS
WON - Newmarket, Friday - 3.15 'Ironxcell' EBF Novice Stakes
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Including winners in eyecatcher features always feels like a slight cop-out, but I'm willing to make an exception given we've seemingly only just scratched the surface with Sangarius.
Just as the first few horses were parading ahead of the Coolmore Nunthorpe, punters at Newmarket were getting seriously stuck into the Kingman colt ahead of his debut.
That spoke volumes given Sir Michael Stoute's record with newcomers and despite duly looking like a gawky kid on his first day at secondary school, he ultimately came through with flying colours under James Doyle.
Just shaken up close home to emerge a neck in front of fellow newcomer Bangkok, the first two finished six lengths clear of the third, with 91-rated Mordred back in fourth.
Bangkok will surely win races but it's Sangarius with the superstar potential and there's just a small chance he went unnoticed given all that was happening with the golden-shoed diva that is Battaash and the lengthy photo finish at York.
The Sir Michael Stoute trained and @the_doyler ridden Sangarius after making a winning debut @NewmarketRace pic.twitter.com/bbzWVirIAZ
— Graham Clark (@GrahamClark85) August 24, 2018
GALLOVIE
3rd - York, Thursday - 2.25 Goffs UK Premier Yearling Stakes
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Gallovie is by Kyllachy but the dam's side of her pedigree suggests a mile will be well within her reach as she grows up and it looks a case of her running huge despite the insufficient test here.
Archie Watson seems to have got his two-year-olds to just keep improving with racing this year and we haven't seen the best of Gallovie, who wasn't too far off the early pace towards the far side and kept on in good style for third.
Valuable nurseries at the end of the season could come under consideration now but this horse looks more than 'just a two-year-old' and could be a name for 2019 too if she trains on over the winter.
WELLS FARHH GO
4th - York, Wednesday - 3.00 Sky Bet Great Voltigeur Stakes
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The Great Voltigeur is always a strong trial for the St Leger and this year looks no exception.
Kew Gardens emerges as the best on the day, despite finishing third, on account of the 5lb penalty he was carrying for his Group One win in France.
It was also a significantly eyecatching effort considering the O'Brien runners have been suffering a bit physically over the summer and the reaction to cut him for the Classic makes sense.
But at the revised prices it's Wells Farhh Go who I want to be on for the Leger. He was 15/2 for the Classic prior to York and is now as big as 16s which looks an over-reaction.
The Good to Firm (good in places) ground was simply too quick for Tim Easterby's charge over this trip (1m4f) in this company. He'd got away with it when allowed to dictate matters in the Group Three Bahrain Trophy on the July Course but he couldn't get into a rhythm on the Knavesmire after being lit up by the competition for the lead.
Easterby reports him to have been 'climbing' on the ground and you can see evidence of that on the replay as they turn for home and on the whole he's run a sound race dropping back a furlong in trip when all he did at Newmarket when beating subsequent winner Loxley was gallop and stay.
He's going to need two miles next year but a soft ground Leger would be right up his street and there'd also be more of a chance of him being allowed to lead.
Wells Farhh Go has done precious little wrong in his career so far and this wasn't as much of a backward step as the bare figures and the betting suggests.
Click on the image below to back Wells Farhh Go for the Leger at 14/1 with Sky Bet...
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