York Ebor Festival Day 3 Tips: Check out our three bets for Friday
There's seven races taking place at York on Friday with the Lonsdale Cup and Nunthorpe Stakes just two of the feature races on day three of the Ebor Festival, and our in-house tipster Steve Chambers has picked out his three best bets on the card here...
14:25 York - Weatherbys Hamilton Lonsdale Cup Stakes
Staying sensation Stradivarius is set to make his hotly-anticipated return to the track on Friday and the John & Thady Gosden-trained superstar is a warm favourite for the Lonsdale Cup, as he attempts to win the Group 2 crown for the third time in his illustrious career. Five go to post for the marathon contest at 14:25 and recent Goodwood Cup hero Trueshan and former Yorkshire Cup winner Spanish Mission will be the two main dangers, but if Stradivarius can deliver his best performance then he should outclass those two rivals.
Trueshan will have to give 3lbs to Stradivarius, which is a notable burden on his shoulders, and while Trueshan was last seen winning at Goodwood in fine style the ground could be a little too quick for him on Friday, and the quicker ground conditions will play into Stradivarius' hands. The dominant stayer of his generation, Stradivarius showed the fire is still burning bright despite his seven years on his first run of the season as he won the Sagaro Stakes, but traffic problems in the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot affected his chances of landing that Group 1 prize again.
He may not not have been able to reel in Subjectivist that day, but with five runners heading to post here then he should have no such traffic problems in this event, and having been freshened up from his June exertions at the Royal meeting, Stradivarius is primed to produce another dominant display. Winner of this race in 2018 and 2019, Gosden's raider has proven year-on-year that he is the dominant figure in the staying sphere, and if he can maintain a prominent position just off the pace in this event then Frankie Dettori can unleash his customary final half-mile surge and the star can shine bright again for favourite backers.
15:00 York - Al Basti Equiworld Dubai Gimcrack Stakes
A red-hot, exciting renewal of the Gimcrack Stakes will see a plethora of progressive juveniles do battle at 15:00 and all eyes will be on the Richard Hannon-trained Lusail, who was last seen claiming a narrow victory in the July Stakes at Newmarket. Prior to that the Mehmas colt had won a novice event at Flat HQ in style and on his racecourse debut he won a decent York maiden. So, a return to the Knavesmire will see him at his best, but he could be vulnerable to the classy Berkshire Shadow, who can return to winning ways on his drop back to six furlongs.
Andrew Balding's son of Dark Angel kicked off his career with a fine debut success at Newbury, but it was his winning display in the hugely competitive Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot that showed that he is one of the best juveniles in training, as he produced a blistering turn of foot in the closing stages to win that Group 2 prize in comfortable fashion.
Sent to Goodwood next time out for the Vintage Stakes over an extra furlong, Berkshire Shadow was just unable to live with the winner Angel Bleu that day, and a drop back to the Coventry distance of six furlongs on Friday should see him at his best. Soft conditions at Goodwood may have also hindered his chances as well, so a return to a sounder surface should see him have the chance to unleash his stunning pace, and he can reign supreme once again in Group company.
15:35 York - Coolmore Wootton Bassett Nunthorpe Stakes
American speedball Golden Pal and French firecracker Suesa are set to serve up an epic duel in the Nunthorpe Stakes, which is the sole Group 1 event on Friday afternoon, and that globetrotting pair are battling it out for favouritism, at the time of writing. The former, who was second in the 2020 Norfolk Stakes on his last trip to Britain, warmed up for this event with a Saratoga success back in July and has shown to be one of the speediest horses in the land. Suesa has had more experience on these shores and having disappointed in the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot, she stormed back to winning ways with an exquisite display in the King George Stakes at Glorious Goodwood.
Of the pair I'd be more inclined to go for Golden Pal as Suesa has often performed best with a bit of cut in the ground, but at the prices it's worth leaving both alone and try and some value against the pair. Winter Power and Dragon Symbol are the two nearest the foreign duo in the betting, and the former of those two was a winner at York in Listed company last time out, and is entitled to improve on that effort and could be the premier challenger from the home brigade.
But, there's a runner lurking down the betting that could well run a huge race at gargantuan odds and that's Emaraaty Ana, who was a winner of the 2018 Gimcrack at the Ebor Festival, and recently showed the fire still burns bright when he bagged a win at Hamilton. There's no doubting this is much tougher than that event, but he appeared to enjoy a drop back to five furlongs for that Scottish test, where he beat Dubai Station emphatically, and with some bookmakers paying extra places then he could be one that sneaks into the top five.
He ruffled no feathers in last year's event, as he finished last of eight, but he dwelt at the start that day, and was left chasing a hopeless task, but with ground conditions in his favour, the Kevin Ryan-trained raider could be a lively outsider at massive prices and is worth taking a chance on.
