Wednesday 23rd August 2017

The York Ebor meeting starts today, this is one of the best meetings of the year and certainly my favourite flat fixture.

A biblical thunder storm hit the racecourse in the past few hours. The going was good to firm but it won't be now. Keep an eye out for a ground change and watch your bets.

The big race of the day is the Juddmonte International Stakes at 3:35. An amazing £1,000,000 of prize money is up for grabs. The 5^th place horse walks away with £26,900, the winner, over half a million pounds. It’s a fantastic pot!

I can’t split Barney Roy & Ulysses.

The Sir Michael Stoute runner has done us a couple of favours in the past. Ulysses was out stayed last time out in the King George, a return to 1m2 on a racecourse that will suit him perfectly must see him go close. Barney Roy was a nose behind Ulysses at Sandown. His trainer Richard Hannon, has gone on record and said Barney Roy has improved again.

If the going has changed too good to soft, this would leave Barney Roy with a question mark. Hopefully the ground won’t be too bad and the above two fight it out for the big prize. I'm just siding with Ulysses at the prices. 4-1.

The Great Voltigeur Stakes at 3:00, I can’t see beyond Cracksman. He’s a long way ahead of these on paper and should win nicely. Anything around the price of 10-11 / 5-6 should be taken.

The only other horse I quite like today is Lansky in the 2:25. He was very impressive on debut. This is a huge step up in class but he could be anything and might reward EW support at 8-1.

Nothing in the handicaps stand out, it’s a long week at York with better options in the next few days.