The first day of the Ebor Festival was a brilliant day of racing, with the defining moment the coming of age for John Gosden’s Roaring Lion. He won the Juddemonte International by three lengths, though many will point towards the defining moment in the straight where Poet’s Word was hemmed in by the Godolphin duo. Did that lose Poet’s Word the race? That’s a question we simply cannot answer, but we should probably switch our focus, for now, to Day 2 of the meeting! Our ITV Racing Tips are on site now and cover the feature race of the day, the 2018 renewal of the Yorkshire Oaks. The focus is on the girls for day two, and we have all the key information below!
If you could use one word to describe Karl Burke’s Laurens, the first would undoubtedly be ‘tenacious’. A three-time Group 1 winner, John Dance’s prized filly has earned plaudits throughout her career for her amazing attitude, which once again carried her home at Chantilly to win the Prix de Diane Longines in June. She doesn’t have a progressive profile and her wins are never more than narrow, but she wears her heart on her sleeve and you can guarantee that she’ll do so again. She will, however, need to improve if she’s to beat Sea Of Class, who arrives here on the back of an impressive Irish Oaks victory at the Curragh. That sets the form standard and her ceiling remains unknown.
Two from two, with the racing world at her feet, Lah Ti Dar was favourite for the Epsom Oaks and she looked imperious at the top of the market. That dream came crashing down with a blood poor blood test in May, and she’s yet to see a racetrack since her demolition job in a Listed contest at Newmarket in May. She makes her return to the racecourse as an intriguing prospect, with plenty hoping this regally bred sort can get her career back on track in the best possible way.
1.30pm – Sky Bet Lowther Stakes (Group 2) (6f)
2.25pm – Goffs UK Premier Yearling Stakes (Class 2) (6f)
3.00pm – Clipper Logistics Handicap (Class 2) (7f 192y)
3.35pm – Darley Yorkshire Oaks (Group 1) (1m 3f 188y)
4.15pm – British EBF & Sir Henry Cecil Galtres Stakes (Listed Race) (1m 3f 188y)
4.50pm – British Stallion Studs EBF Fillies’ Handicap (Class 2) (7f)
Going: Good to Firm, Good in places
Weather: Mainly dry, possibility of a shower in the afternoon, high of 18°c, low of 11°c
4.50pm York – Betty F (10/1 into 7/1)
4.50pm York – Lincoln Rocks (14/1 into 10/1)
If you’d have backed all of Paul Hanagan’s rides at York this year, you’d be in a profit of 29.50 to level stakes, with a strike-rate of 6/31. He has three rides at York on Thursday, Flawless Jewel (1.55), Kodyanna (2.25) and Clubbable (4.50).