York Ebor blog: Day 3 replay | Welcome To Yorkshire Ebor Festival at York

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1650: With the last race in sight and Saturday's Value Bet written up, I'm going to love you and leave for a good position ahead of the last.

It's been a brilliant week, not punting-wise, admittedly, but Ulysses, Enable and today's thrilling finish between Marsha and Lady Aurelia will live long in the memory.

We'll have a Saturday blog tomorrow, but it won't be me steering that particular ship. Thanks for all your emails this week - and best of luck in the lucky lucky last.

1623: They went without Doswell in the Convivial and it's Kev's newcomer Dream Today that wins the races. Well done Kev! The Champagne Stakes entry does the business.

1618: Not a great hour in the life of Frankie Dettori. Doswell gets restless in the stalls and the Italian jockey has jumped off him.

1604: Doswell, the Giant's Causeway colt, will wear a hood in the parade ring, but not in the race. They're parading for the Convivial, the richest maiden in the land with £70,000 worth of bounty on offer.

1602: Kev has already moved on from the Nunthorpe: "Hi Ben any thoughts on the 4.15 I was looking at Dream Today ew."

Very much a race for me to watch and learn from, Kev. Doswell looks a worthy favourite judging by how green he was and how close he got in a Newmarket maiden. At least, I thought John Gosden's Dewhurst entry was favourite but it seems Capital Flight has that honour, now, looking down at the boards.

Dream Today has the pedigree - full-brother to Al Wukair - and the entries - he's in the Champagne Stakes, so, who knows? If you're happy to chance a debutant I can think of worse ones to throw a few quid at.

1556: A delighted Luke Morris says: "I wasn't sure and when I saw Frankie put his arm up, I was gutted as I thought he had won, then someone said congratulations to me and it turned into jubilation.

"Her performance in the Palace House was exceptional, but she's been a bit below par since. Going down today, though, she felt more on her mettle and more alive. Sir Mark is a genius. I have been with him five years now and we've had some great days .

"It's fantastic for the owners. It's great for the man in the street to be involved with a horse like this."

Wes Ward was proud of Lady Aurelia in defeat, and full of praise for the winner.

He said: "She's a true champion, these things happen. She ran a brilliant race and the other filly ran us down. I think we got beat fair and square. She's run a fantastic race and I'm very proud of her."

1546: Marsha nuts Lady Aurelia on the line...

1544: In the drama I didn't notice Battash's stablemate Cotai Glory stay on for third at 50/1.

1543: The first thing to say is, I don't think Battaash ran his race. He took an age to go in the stalls, was more than playing up a bit and that energy used before the loading process might've cost him. He still ran well and looked the likely one to give chase to the turf-burning Lady Aurelia as they approached the final furlong, but all the time Luke Morris was creeping closer on the strong-travelling Marsha. I didn't think she'd got there, perhaps swayed by the Dettori celebration, but she has, by a nose, in an absolute thriller.

1541: Wow. Just wow. Spine tingling stuff here on the Knavesmire as Frankie gives the crowd the salute after crossing the line aboard Lady Aurelia... but she's lost out, by a nose, to Marsha in a sensational race for the Nunthorpe.

1535: They're going in the stalls. Don't blink for this one...

1532: 3 minutes to race says the big screen. An expectant York crowd holds its breath. This could be a sprinting classic. Fingers crossed it plays out like that.

Ewen is thinking about the effect of the draw, saying: "Even if Battash proves to be a Group 1 horse, the effect of the draw has to swing things in favour of Lady Aurelia..unless, of course, Battash is extra special.. Watch the start, count to 5 and see how much distance there is between them, and then compare that with the end result..."

I hope we're not talking about the draw afterwards, Ewen...

1529: The punters have spoken; Lady Aurelia a very strong 11/10 favourite. Battaash 2/1 and it's 8/1 bar the big two.

1528: There she goes with her pony, Lady Aurelia. First time I've seen her in the flesh, she's not very big is she? Maybe that's a good thing, small and nippy. We'll soon find out as a truly fantastic edition of the Coolmore Nunthorpe Stakes draws nearer.

1519: The big two might be fast, but they are also precious. Both Battaash and Lady Aurelia go to post early, the latter will be ponied to the start.

1518: Talaayeb's victory means there will be no Sporting Life Pick 7 jackpot winner today. The good news is you can have another go tomorrow.

1517: Battaash in the Nunthorpe? It's here... let's get ready to ruuuuuuuuuuuumble.

1516: Just the one runner for Sheikh Hamdan in the last three races. Some horse called Battaash in the Nunthrope.

1515: It's been some day for Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum so far. Fidaawy. Talaayeb. What could possibly make this better? I'll just see what he's got for the rest of the card...

1511: Really pleased to see Toscanini run a massive race for Richard Fahey. Ribchester's carrot for much of the campaign, he's proven what a good horse he is in his own right with a blinding run in second. Another few yards and he might've won it.

1508: Owen Burrows is back. Hot on the heels of Massaat emerging from the shadosw at Newbury last weekend, here's his Talaayeb winning the Sky Bet City Of York Stakes. Chris Hayes times his challenge to perfection, and the Dansili filly just holds on from the flying-at-the-death Toscanini. Suedois was third for David O'Meara.

1455: They're going down for a spectacular Group Three, the Sky Bet City Of York Stakes. £175,000 is up for grabs and Tupi and Viscount Barfield are the two that don't go, leaving a field of 18 to battle it out. Daban is your 9/2 favourite.

1437: I can't tip everything trained by Andrew Balding, can I? #facepalm

1436: Andrew Balding does it again on the big stage this season as his Montaly just gets the better of Dartmouth in a ding-dong battle for the Lonsdale. I remember being at Chester earlier in the season when he won the Cup, and connections were telling me about his injury problems and that they nearly pulled him out (of Chester) because of the fast ground. The 16/1 chance had no issues with fast ground in May and he's not had a problem with the drying surface today, either. What a fabulous horse to own.

1421: It's the Group Two Weatherbys Hamilton Lonsdale Cup up next and these old stayers are strolling round the paddock wondering what all the fuss is about. If they had hands, they'd be in their corduroy pockets. Dartmouth your well-backed favourite for the Queen. Stoutey is on fire...

1414: 1775 out of 81493 (2.2 per cent) Sporting Life Pick 7 players found Fidaawy in the opener. Well done if you're one of the 1775. Hard lines if you're one of the 79,718.

1412: The free video replay for the opener is already available on this very site right here. You simply cannot beat that, a service quicker than Lady Aurelia. Click here to view it, if you haven't seen it and you want to see with your own eyeballs where your money went.

1410: Richard Hoiles has just tweeted the time for the opener was five seconds faster than Enable's yesterday, so perhaps that's an indication of the way the ground is going.

1408: An actual text just came through. Not a WhatsApp or a tweet or an email, an actual text. Must be from one of my good friends or family. How exciting.

Oh. It's from Domino's. *Heart sinks*

1407: Bugger, it's the Ebor tomorrow isn't it? And the Melrose? I better draw stumps after those.

1406: Where were my selections? It's a ruddy good question. Seventh and ninth is your answer. It's a brilliant meeting, and I am thoroughly enjoying it, but from a punting point of view I'm not feeling the love at all. I might draw stumps for the week.

1404: Fidaawy wins the opener after a tight tussle with Red Galileo in the home straight, a belting finish to the Sky Bet First Race Special Stakes. Jim Crowley always had the son of New Approach prominent as Mukhayyam set the fractions and those tactics paid dividends - he's riding so well. Very little got into from off the pace, with plenty doing their best work at the finish in behind. Too little, too late for plenty and that race will be worth a second and third viewing.

1348: Goodwood hero Londinium is your 6/1 favourite here, while Al Neksh has lost a shoe on the way to the start. That could result in a slight delay here at York as day three of the Welcome To Yorkshire Ebor Festival is about to begin... Good luck with your bets.

1343: Well, Faay is unplaced on debut, but so was Mecca's Angel. So there's hope yet. They're parading for the first here at York.

1335: While we wait for Mecca's Angel's full-sister to run, Simon adds: "Just to show I follow your wise words closely, you put up David Menusier selected for today's Convivial maiden (the best Notebook race of the season!) but he has no runners! However one of his two entries runs at Goodwood this evening in the 5.45, Danceteria. Dartmouth is nice at this time of year."

Ha ha, yes indeed. I've always wanted to put a 'trainer's selected' in something for a giggle and that was the perfect opportunity. I was very disappointed he hasn't run one of them after that cryptic conversation but good spot regarding Danceteria, I'm going to have to back him, just in case. A juicy price as well...

1333: A few interesting snippets from Simon in the lunch break as he says: "With the Nunthorpe today Mecca's Angel has rightly had plenty of mentions. Her full sister, Faay, debuts in the Newmarket 1.35 today. A snip I'm sure at £400K. Cocktails for me today. Just can't have enough Mojito's!! Time Haggas came to the party."

Thanks Simon, just in time for that one... I shall monitor with interest.

1330: And play resumes.

1245: Talking of picnics, it's that time of day again. It won't be a long lunch, you have my word. Please keep your emails coming to the address at the top and we'll be approaching the first race on a stellar card upon my return.

1235: Not a bad place for a picnic. A view of the main grandstand from the course side here at York today...

1230: Mark says: "Hi Ben, I am a big fan from Appeared and I think on a drying ground he could go very close.Of course it is a very tight handicap but I think 9/1 is a little bit too big. What do you think about his chances?"

It's one of those handicaps, Mark, where you could make a case for most of the field. He's clearly a good horse and might have a little bit more improvement yet so I wouldn't put you off him. Personally, I thought Amazing Red and Speedo Boy were better bets at bigger prices last night for the reasons given here. I had a look at Appeared and just thought there were better handicapped horses in against him at bigger prices, so he was quite easy to strike a line through from my perspective. That's not to say he can't win this.

1217: Stan (he's not really called Stan) says: "Hi Ben. Are there any stats available for how often a 16+ runner handicap with top 4 e/w turns into a first 3 only following non runners? Seems to happen all the time. Are trainers of no hopers being got at by the bookies??! Anyway, really looking forward to the Nunthorpe and I've backed Take Cover ew at a price, in the hope he takes on Lady Aurelia and then hangs on for a win or place."

Hi... Stan. I couldn't possibly support such a conspiracy theory for obvious reasons, but I feel your frustration. It's not easy being a punter, but it's better than not being a punter... I think. As for Take Cover, that's a perfectly reasonable angle you've got there. He's quick ,isn't he. I'm a big fan and wouldn't be surprised at all to see him hit the frame.

1205: Just been for a stroll over to the course side and bumped into Golden Hello, from New Beginnings. He's 26 and the old gent won't even raise an eyebrow when they hurtle past him in the Nunthorpe, he's seen it all before. New Beginnings really do do a tremendous job with the retraining of former racehorses and you can find out more about their work here.

1133: Like the market, I can't envisage both of the big two blowing out in the Nunthorpe. But, it wouldn't surprise me if one of them didn't run up to form. Maybe it's the drying from softer ground that's on my mind, maybe it's just because I've seen it all before at York. Maybe it's because I'm massive pessimist (I'm trying to rectify this. Garry Kasparov says you have to be optimistic in life and his theories are better than mine). But, let's just say one of Lady Aurelia or Battaash doesn't run up to their best. Then try and envisage both of them running below par. Then you have a boilover. And there are some very, very good horses available at absolutely massive each-way prices. Like Priceless, JPs horse in the last update - available at 50/1. Alpha Delphini, 66s. Goldream, 66s. Take Cover, 33s. Proper sprinters.

This is where I talk myself into some crazy each-way bets, before watching Lady Aurelia lead home Battaash and Marsha in a top-of-the-market 1-2-3 (Nap).

1125: JP In Paris is back for more. He says: "Hi Ben...inching towards my first winner...had Coronet without Enable yesterday and some ew so just afloat...today's pouncers are...Amazing Red in the first (sorry!)...St Michel in the LC...Spangled in the DoY...Priceless in the Nunthorpe...going with 3 in the Convivial, Zilara, (Jackie?) Commander Han and Newborough...and 2 to get me out of jail in the last, Syphax and Montataire.

Don't apologise JP, you've got closer than me here at York this week. I don't believe in the jinxing of another one's bets, total hogwash. Don't believe that I'm not superstitious, though. I have my lucky red boxers on today and if they do the business they'll be staying on for Ebor day as well.

1119: LT says: "The boxing-style announcement made me laugh, Ben, good work….just don't ruin it by adding "Let's get readyyyy to ruuumbllllllllllle" at any stage before the race itself please.

"Unmitigated disaster so far this week - barely a place to shout about and NO winners. Rectifying it with a BIG E/W trixie today on Londinium, Medahim and your tip, Rusumaat. Discuss (and correct it) if you will please! Best wishes for the third day."

Thanks LT, best of luck those, I wouldn't dare correct anyone's bet, I did that to my old grandad once and he missed out on a treble. You'd think he'd let things go but the 90-year-old lunatic reminds me of it every Saturday. I promise I won't do the rumble, it's too late now. I should've done it earlier!

1110: Game Starter is your most vital non runner so far today. He's out of the first and was around 11/2 so any Thursday night early-price punters might well face a Rule 4 there. You have to back a winner though first, so worry about that later! Duke Of Firenze also out of the Nunthorpe and you won't have to worry about an R4 in his case. Game Starter has an infected foot and Duke Of Firenze is lame. Get well soon, gentlemen.

1102: It's sunny now, we're forecast to be dry and it should get up to 20 degrees this afternoon. Almost perfect Pimms weather, if you're coming along.

1100: I'm a grumpy so-and-so sometimes and tend to moan about things I shouldn't, and my one tiny little bug bear today is the ground. I just wish it was rattling quick, just so we might see what these two could push themselves to on lightning fast conditions. The ground is drying, though, to Good, Good to Soft in places and there is a fresh strip of ground thanks to the rail movements (four yards out from the innermost line from 9f out to the entrance to the home straight).

1055: Well, I'm excited about the Nunthorpe, anyway. Are you? Of course you are. What a spectacle it could be. Get your emails in to the address at the top with all your thoughts on the big clash and the rest of today please. We might just see something very special.

1045: Roll up! Roll up! They're the hottest tickets in town. The biggest battle anywhere on planet earth this August bank holiday weekend. You can keep your unbeaten coming-out-of-retirement boxing champion taking on some cage fighter at the circus, this is where the real sport is at. York racecourse, for a proper scrap. The fight to decide just which horse is the fastest on four legs...

In the red corner, all the way from California in the US of A, we have the champion sprinter, the sensational King's Stand winner, with her jockey Frankie Dettori weighing in at 132 pounds, representing Wesley A Ward.... LAAAAAAAADY AUREEEEEEEEEEELIA!

And in the blue corner, from Lambourn, England, we have the pretender, the average juvenile turned three-year-old speed freak, the fabulous, the funky, the fastest Dark Angel since, errr, Mecca's Angel, with his jockey Jim Crowley weighing in at 135 pounds, representing Charlie Hills... the beautiful, the brilliant... BAAAAAAATTTTTAAAAAAASH!