Ebor Handicap Tips: Owen Runner On The Right Road
It often makes sense to start at the top of the market in big races like this and attempt to find holes in those at short prices, and in this year's Ebor at least I think it is fairly easy to do so. Queenstown looks to be heading the market purely due to the awesome power of his trainer Aidan O'Brien to me, with his chasing home of Kyprios the last twice when never really giving his more illustrious stablemate much to worry about seemingly being viewed as elite form. I'm not convinced, and with just one horse carrying more weight than him he looks to have a tough job on.
The horse who will carry a pound more and top weight is Relentless Voyager, who is a horse I have plenty of time for and would perhaps have added to the staking plan were it not for that burden of top weight. If you are a forecast / tricast player I'd include him in any perms as his chasing home of Al Aasy last time out looks very solid indeed and we know what we are going to get with Andrew Balding's charge.
There are chances aplenty here and I won't attempt to mention every runner in with a squeak, for both your sanity and mine. One horse who fits the Queenstown mould of overrated due to his genius trainer is surely Hipop De Loire, with Willie Mullins' runner having form in Germany that surely is not up to this standard. It would be no surprise to see the master of Closutton work his magic on this horse and perhaps he'll bolt up, but he cannot be a bet at 8/1 unless you are just blind backing the trainer - a strategy which has probably paid off a lot over recent years to be fair to those who are tempted.
Epic Poet is the same price and has a much more solid profile, finishing best of those drawn high in the John Smith's Cup here last time out in fifth. He is weighted to go well again and could be a solid enough each-way punt, for all the win part of that bet doesn't particularly excite. Naqeeb was probably the horse I found toughest to leave out as William Haggas's runner gave a stone away last time out, dwelt at the start and still only lost by a head. He will definitely stay regardless of ground and has a great chance.
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Magical Zoe for Henry De Bromhead has long seemed like the sort of horse who could excel on the flat with her travel style, however I'm not convinced about her will to win and would be avoiding her of the jumps battalion attempting to plunder this prize. My Mate Mozzie is a bigger price and makes more appeal for Gavin Cromwell after a solid third in the Galway Hurdle last time out followed up his third place in the Copper Horse Handicap at Royal Ascot. I was not the biggest fan of the ride Gary Carroll gave him at the Royal Meeting but he gets the chance to put that right here and off this mark I'd not be surprised to see him in the mix.
It is a jumps horse I am siding with, well a multi purpose horse I suppose: BURDETT ROAD. James Owen spoke to Nick Luck on his excellent podcast earlier this week and could hardly have exuded more confidence about his stable star when it comes to this race, purring about the form he is in and the way he has bonded with rider Silvestre De Sousa in his work so far. His run behind Sir Gino will one suspects look better and better in time as that one goes on to hopefully dominate the jumps world for Nicky Henderson, and before that he'd looked a star juvenile.
His flat form is not to be sniffed at either, with a defeat behind Passenger now looking fine form as well. Owen was keen to stress his run last time out at Ascot was simply to blow the cobwebs off and with a mark of just 101 to contend with on the level and proof aplenty of his stamina and latent pace, I would be very disappointed were this horse to be out of the extended frame being offered by all bookies. He has a right chance of winning too, so despite the claims of plenty others and the temptation to go in doublehanded in a race like this, I'm all in Burdett Road.