We caught up with Kieran Betteley of the Sky Bet trading team to get his Sky Bet Ebor Festival fancies and to find out who has been popular in the betting.
Who is your banker of the meeting?
I’m very sweet on Savethelastdance for the Arc, so I’ll be hoping she enhances her claims by winning the Yorkshire Oaks next week. Conditions will be drastically different to the ones she handled so well at Chester (and what they will hopefully be at Longchamp) but she showed she’s still effective on better ground in the Epsom Oaks. The O’Brien camp will have learnt plenty from her narrow win in the Irish Oaks and I’d expect them to ensure they make this a proper test for her to be seen to best effect.
Are there any short-price favourites you're looking to oppose?
Highfield Princess has been an absolute superstar, but she’ll likely be as short as she’s ever been to land a Group 1 when lining up in the Nunthorpe. It looks an interesting renewal of the race, with her Royal Ascot nemesis Bradsell reopposing amongst some other more unexposed types such as Big Evs. Everything needs to go right in these big-field sprints, so I think she looks plenty short enough for a race she was an each-way price in last year.
Do you have a strong fancy in any of the two-year-old races?
Relief Rally is perhaps slightly unlucky not to be unbeaten in her four career starts to date. She was only narrowly denied in the Queen Mary at Royal Ascot, but made amends in impressive style when winning the valuable Super Sprint at Newbury last time out. She returns to a better quality race here, but she’s run to a level which should see her tough to beat for the Haggas yard.
Which horses have proved popular in the Sky Bet Ebor ante-post betting?
Following success at the Shergar Cup, Scampi has attracted plenty of support for Andrew Balding and will be one we’re looking to avoid. The other loser in our book is Jackfinbar who we’d laid at as big as 20/1, but is now half that at the time of writing. Willie Mullins’ charge has been subject to significant money over the last couple of weeks having shown up well at the Galway Festival.
Who do you fancy in the Sky Bet Ebor?
It’s very boring, but if Sweet William takes his place I’d expect him to take the world of beating. He’s taken a bit of time to live up to his classic-winning pedigree, but he looks an extremely progressive sort now. He’s won a lot easier than the winning margins have suggested on his last three starts, and looks a proper Group stayer in the making.
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