Ben Linfoot hands out his awards following a fantastic week of racing at the Welcome To Yorkshire Ebor Festival, with Tim Easterby and Mishriff amongst the winners.
đ Race of the Week â Lonsdale Cup
The Weatherbys Hamilton Lonsdale Cup would probably have been a long-priced outsider if such a market on race of the week existed â and it wouldâve drifted further once Trueshan was ruled out on account of the ground on race day. But, as the old saying goes, it only takes two horses to make a great horse race and Spanish Mission and Stradivarius served up a thriller.
Stradivarius wasnât the only seven-year-old to prevail on Ebor week â both Copper Knight and Arcadian Sunrise struck for the relative veterans as well â but he was the one that conjured the biggest roar from the grandstands as he stuck his neck out right on the line to ensure victory following a prolonged battle with Spanish Mission on the Knavesmire.
Longevity is a word that helps describe his trainer and jockey, John Gosden and Frankie Dettori, as well, but the L-word is one of Stradivariusâ main attributes and the question now is how many more group races can he add to his 16-strong haul? On this evidence his will to win is very much still there and talk of him being on the decline has been put on the back burner, for now, after such a memorable spectacle.
đ Horse of the Week â Mishriff
Of all the potential smash ups we could see in the latter part of the Flat season my one wish would be a Mishriff v St Markâs Basilica rematch over 10 furlongs. Judging by Mishriffâs Juddmonte International romp, that head to head would be box office.
The Juddmonte International was meant to be the race where those two exchanged blows again, but a late setback to St Markâs Basilica paved the way for Mishriff to bounce back to winning form in style as he powered away from six horses who had landed seven Group races between them in 2021. Some had lost their form, some struggled at the trip, but Mishriff was thriving over his optimum distance and he landed a six-lengths-couldâve-been-more success under David Egan to add another ÂŁ567,100 to his considerable coffers.
Having been brushed aside by St Markâs Basilica in the Coral-Eclipse, John Gosden would be forgiven for going full Delia Smith in his pursuit of redemption now. âWhere are you SMB? Letâs be âavin you?â The fear is it wonât happen. But a potential Champion Stakes rematch will have the Ascot marketing department licking their lips in anticipation and rightly so.
Unlimited Replays
of all UK and Irish races with our Race Replays
Discover Sporting Life Plus Benefits
đ Juvenile of the Week â Lusail
In a division that is struggling to push forward impressive standard bearers Lusail has quietly gone about his business for Richard Hannon, who said that missing Royal Ascot was the best decision he made for this horse. Perhaps thatâs why he seems to have made his way to the top of the juvenile tree with a degree of stealth.
His July Stakes victory at Newmarket came by the distance of just a head, but the form was boosted emphatically by both Asymmetric and Ebro River so hopes were high that he could defy a 3lb penalty in the Al Basti Equiworld Dubai Gimcrack Stakes.
Not only did he do just that, but he did it in style, cruising through the race under Pat Dobbs before sprinting clear from his rivals like a horse seriously on the upgrade. His sire, Mehmas, never made it to the track as a three-year-old having being retired at two, but Lusail looks a horse for both now and the future and his trainer is eyeing a tilt at the 2000 Guineas, for which heâs a 16/1 shot with Betfair Sportsbook.
đ Trainer of the Week â Tim Easterby
3 wins from 12 runs at 25% (+ÂŁ46 to ÂŁ1 level-stakes at SP)
John & Thady Gosden ended the week as top Ebor Festival trainer(s) with four victories, headlined by the successes of Mishriff and Stradivarius, but Winter Powerâs Nunthorpe victory sealed this award for Tim Easterby.
The Great Habton handler kicked off the meeting with the very first winner of the week thanks to the evergreen Copper Knight and that 18/1 success was followed up on the second day by 28/1 Clipper Logistics winner Cruyff Turn, who made all under David Allan for a game victory. Those winning outsiders account for most of that healthy level-stakes profit, with the rest of it bolstered by the surprisingly-inflated SP of 9/1 about Winter Power who was superb in the Nunthorpe.
It was back to the drawing board after things didnât work out for this filly in the Kingâs Stand at Royal Ascot, but a confidence-boosting win here in the Listed City Walls Stakes laid the foundations for a much-deserved first Nunthorpe victory for the yard.
Well deserved drink for Winter Power, a brilliant winner of the Nunthorpe @yorkracecourse pic.twitter.com/pJsPQTMCo6
â Ben Linfoot (@BenLinfoot) August 20, 2021
đ Jockey of the Week â David Allan
2 wins from 7 rides at 29% (+ÂŁ41 to ÂŁ1 level-stakes at SP)
There was to be no dominant jockey at the Ebor Festival with the prizes shared around between 23 winning riders. Ryan Moore, Oisin Murphy, Danny Tudhope, William Buick and David Allan all rode two winners each during the week and itâs the latter that gets our trophy having notched 18/1 and 28/1 winners from just seven rides.
He was also second on Atomic Lady and Highfield Princess, so Allan was certainly in the groove on the Knavesmire and there was no better example than when he controlled the Clipper Logistics 18-runner handicap from the front end under a sweaty horse in Cruyff Turn who wanted to get on with things.
Despite that Allan set a steady pace, favouring those on the front end, and though he was headed by Indeed at the furlong pole Cruyff Turn responded to his riderâs urgings to get back up and win by a rallying head.
đ Stallion of the Week â Wootton Bassett
Remarkably, 26 different stallions were responsible for the 28 winners at Yorkâs Ebor Festival and leading UK sire by prize-money, Frankel, wasnât one of them.
Simple maths tells you two sires had two winners apiece and they were Dubawi (Yibir and Space Blues) and Wootton Bassett, with top honours going to the latter seeing as he struck with both of his two representatives at the meeting. Almanzor might have made his name in the breeding world, but his influence shows no sign of stopping with two-year-olds Royal Patronage and Attagirl doing the business for him on the Knavesmire.
He even had the Coolmore Wootton Bassett Nunthorpe Stakes named after him, 11 years on from winning the big sales race at this meeting.
