1.50 York – Haunted Dream EW
Haunted Dream has been in the form of his life this season, and he was worth more than the winning margin suggests when scoring at Glorious Goodwood earlier this month. Three-year-olds have only won this race once in the last ten years, and they are dominating the betting, so I am keen to oppose them. I think the son of Oasis Dream has a great chance of making the frame.
2.25 York – Champagne Prince EW
I think this is a very tricky race, and nothing was jumping off the page at me. However, Champagne Prince is a horse that was on my radar earlier in the season, and the last time we saw him, he flew home to finish second in the Shergar Cup at Ascot. If you look at his pedigree, then you’ll see his dam Maid Up won a Group 3 over 1m6f, so there is hope for him to get this trip.
3.00 York – Kinross
I was with Audience at Goodwood last time out, but I am going to take him on with Kinross here. Now I know he has to reverse form with Audience, but Kinross at York has an excellent record, and he’s going for a hat-trick of wins in this race. I’ve always had him as a horse who gets better later on in the season, so the fact he hasn’t won this year doesn’t bother me. The ground should be fine, and I’d expect the seven-year-old gelding to take a massive step forward here from his latest run.
3.35 York – My Mate Mozzie EW / Sea King EW
I’m going to be siding with two here. The first of them is My Mate Mozzie, with whom I tipped my antepost piece last week. He’s been knocking on the door in a lot of good staying handicaps on the Flat, which included a third-placed effort at Royal Ascot back in June. The last time we saw him, he finished third in the Galway Hurdle, so he arrives here in good form.
The other horse I like in this race is Sea King for Sir Mark Prescott. He was last seen running at Ripon, where he finished third.
4.10 York – Summerghand EW
I’ve been on the Summerghand express this summer, as he’s very well handicapped to strike. His run at Ripon last week in the Great St. Wilfrid was a good run, and he ended up finishing fourth. Off his mark of 89, he surely has to go close.
4.45 York – Do It Now EW
The last time we saw him he was well-beaten at Goodwood over 6f, but I think he didn’t handle the track that day, and the drop back to 5f should suit, as he’s a very speedy horse. If Connor Beasley can guide him towards the pace from the start, then he could still be there fighting it out at the finish.
5.20 York – Oviedo EW
I’m going to take a chance on Oviedo here for Ed Bethell. The four-year-old gelding has been a little bit disappointing on both his starts this season, but he comes after a little break, which could be the key, as he has run well fresh in the past. Last season he came a close second in this off a 1lb lower mark, and a repeat effort of that performance should see him in the mix once again.