ITV Racing Tips: Final Day Picks For Saturday At York

The fourth and final day of York's Ebor Meeting for 2026 takes place on Saturday and as always, the card is jam-packed with fantastic action. Billy Grimshaw looks to end the week with a bang and has a couple of each-way fancies in big field races...

15:00 York -City Of York Stakes

This is a phenomenal renewal of the race in terms of its competitiveness, with at least the top five in the betting all to me looking to have an excellent chance. If I were to be forced to put a line through one, given the ground conditions, I'd be against Satono Reve the Japanese raider as this will surely be the most mud he has ever encountered - the racing over there very rarely takes place on anything other than what we here would describe as firm. 

It was not the story of the race at the time, given the brilliant Bow Echo vs Gstaad duel taking place, but TEN BOB TONY actually ran a race worth arguably as much purely on form as his Queen Anne win in the Sussex last time out and doubters of his should now be believers. He was given far too much to do but rattled home for fourth and dropping back to seven here, on rain softened ground, should see him to best effect. He may find one too good, and the horse I fear most is actually one that ended up behind him at Goodwood in Lake Forest, but the place part of his each-way price is simply wrong.

Both my pick and the main danger will have to beat favourite Notable Speech, but I am lukewarm on him for all he obviously has a chance. He looks to always need every yard of a mile and doesn't have a great record here, so I am not sure the race conditions suit the Godolphin star. I may be proven wrong and this is a competitive affair, but Ten Bob Tony at 8/1 each-way looks rock solid.

15:35 York - Ebor Handicap

Although throughout the week there is a draw bias for those low, in these staying handicaps it can actually pay to be drawn wide looking at the last decade or so's winners. I am not siding with one drawn particularly high, for what it's worth, but I thought it worth flagging for those who will be doing their own study and may have put a line through anything drawn over a certain number. The horse I think will win the Ebor, and potentially win it in brilliant style, runs for the man of the season Joseph O'Brien and has Ryan Moore booked to ride: EMIT.

He was last seen running no more than a fine race at Ascot in a handicap, but watching that back there was a smell of a horse waiting for a bigger day. That also certainly applies to his penultimate start at the Curragh, notably in a "Race To The Ebor" handicap when he was stationed far too far back before plugging on eye-catchingly to move from almost the rear into fifth. This is a race nowadays which trainers will build seasons around given the huge prize money on offer and there is no one better right now the O'Brien junior for getting one cherry ripe for the big day. I suspect this is that day for Emit.

Of course, in an Ebor, there are dangers aplenty and given Andrew Balding's form this week I am surprised to see Tarriance has drifted in the market throughout the week. If Emit's runs prior to this smelled like prep runs, Tarriance's outing at Goodwood reeked of it and he will surely come on a bundle for that reappearance. He rates the chief threat, although I was tempted at a bigger price to have a few pennies on the seven year old Epic Poet for David O'Meara, who has plenty of form in races like this over his career and is being discredited by the market for one poor run in the John Smith's Cup here last time. Nevertheless, it's Emit for me to hopefully wrap up the week in the best fashion.