York Ebor Festival Day 4 Tips: Check out our best bets for Saturday

There are seven races on the final day of York's Ebor Festival on Saturday afternoon, and our tipster Steve Chambers has picked out his three best bets for the action on the Knavesmire...

13:50 York - Sky Bet And Symphony Group Strensall Stakes

It's Group action to begin the afternoon and there are some exciting contenders lining up for the Strensall Stakes at 13:50, but it could all be about one horse and that is the Saeed bin Suroor-trained REAL WORLD, who has been hugely progressive this season and he can continue his meteoric rise up the ratings by landing this prize in style.

An emphatic four-and-three-quarter length winner of the Royal Hunt Cup at Royal Ascot in June, the Godolphin raider then continued to blossom as he outclassed his rivals in the Listed Steventon Stakes at Newbury last month. Sent up another level on Saturday, Real World will be bidding to make it three wins on the bounce this season, and the manner in which he has dominated his last two contests then he's shaped like there's a lot more to come over the next couple of months and next season, and he is going to be tough to beat.

He's entitled to be a short favourite for this event, and while the likes of My Oberon, who was last seen finishing fourth in the Group 1 Prince Of Wales's Stakes, and El Drama (won the Dee Stakes at Chester in May) are set to be lively adversaries to Real World, the son of Dark Angel can continue to blossom on the track and claim this prize with ease.

14:25 York - Sky Bet Melrose Handicap

A sensational renewal of the Melrose Handicap will see a bumper field of improving three-year-olds go to post, and it's no surprise to see the bookmakers going 13/2 the field, at the time of writing, as a host of contenders look to have a great chance of landing the prestigious event.

Yet to be out the first two in five outings, the William Haggas-trained Dhushan was last seen chasing home First Light in a competitive Ascot event in mid-July and the Sea The Stars colt is sure to be on the vicinity once again here, while Sir Mark Prescott's Summer's Knight has racked up a brace of wins at Ffos Las and Yarmouth and looks to be improving with every run. However, this is a notable step in class for that son of Camelot, and he may struggle.

Imperial Sun and Surrey Gold are another brace of eye-catching contenders, but the one that stands out is the Aidan O'Brien-trained KING OF THE CASTLE, who only broke his maiden tag last time out, but looks like he could be a late developer for the Ballydoyle team, and he could progress immeasurably for that success, and he can claim the prize.

He will have the burden of top weight, but two outings ago he was an excellent second place in the Ulster Derby at Down Royal, before he won a maiden comfortably at Limerick in early July. The Galileo colt strode clear of the field in the closing stages of that contest, and shaped like he could really relish a big-field event run at a fast pace from the outset, so the Melrose could prove ideal for him. He will need to improve further to down some attractively handicapped rivals, but he is open to more improvement and at attractive odds is worth backing.

15:35 York - Sky Bet Ebor Handicap

A multitude of horses will head into Saturday's Ebor Handicap believing they can strike gold in the prestigious, valuable prize and with long-time ante-post favourite Live Your Dream not featuring then we are all set for an ultra-competitive renewal. The likes of the William Haggas-trained Hamish and the Johnny Murtagh-trained duo of Sonnyboyliston and Mirann are all prominent figures in the betting, and all have a notable chance of winning.

However, with the bookmakers offering a number of enhanced places, with some firms offering six to eight places then it could be worth looking for an each-way contender at huge odds, and one that falls nicely into that bracket is David O'Meara's Eagles By Day, who will have 9st 11lbs to carry in the 1m 6f event.

A Group 3 winner of the John Smith's Silver Cup Stakes in July 2020, EAGLES BY DAY has failed to kick on from that success at York, but a return to the Knavesmire could see him recapture that sort of form, and around the 28/1-33/1 mark he is worthy of a speculative each-way bet. Unable to land any sort of blow in the Group 3 Glorious Stakes at Glorious Goodwood, he had previously contested the Doncaster Cup (finished 5th), so he has been deemed smart enough to try his luck against some of the best stayers in training.

While he will have a different task on his plate on Saturday, Eagles By Day may enjoy the drop back into handicap company, and if he can get back to his 2020 form then he could well be a lively player at a big price.