Two To Follow And Two To Avoid At The Ebor Meeting

The Ebor Festival kicks off at York this week, providing punters with plenty of top-class action to get stuck into. We have runner-by-runner analysis and tips for all of the ITV Races, including the Juddmonte International, Yorkshire Oaks, Nunthorpe and the ultra-competitive Ebor Handicap – which is the most valuable flat handicap in Europe.

Here at myracing, we have produced some stats that provide two to follow, and two to avoid, at York this week.

Avoid Aidan O’Brien’s Runners in the Acomb Stakes

Aidan O’Brien has plenty of excellent chances this week, but he has a very poor recent record in the Acomb Stakes – which is the first Group race at the meeting.

Since Hemingway scored back in 2000, O’Brien is 0-13 with his runners. Ten of those went off at a single-figure price, and six went off at odds of 7/2 or shorter.

Simply put, this does not appear to be a race that Ballydoyle targets their best juveniles at, which is something to bear in mind for those considering backing his sole representative, Harpocrates, in this year’s renewal.

Follow Claiming Jockeys In The Ebor

Saturday’s Ebor will be the first Flat handicap in Britain worth seven figures, and as always in competitive handicaps – every pound counts.

With that in mind, it is no shock to see claiming jockeys have such an exceptional recent record in the race – with five of the last ten winners accompanied by a rider removing weight from their respective mounts.

To put this into context, claiming riders covered only 16% of the total jockeys to have ridden in the race in the last ten years, but in that same time period, backing every claimer to a £10 stake would have resulted in a profit of £695.

Avoid Last Time Out Winners In The Nunthorpe

Arguably, the race punters are looking forward to the most this week is Friday’s Nunthorpe Stakes, which many see as a match between Ten Sovereigns and Battaash.

Both are coming into the race on the back of victories, but this has not been a plus in recent renewals.

Just three of the last ten winners of the Nunthorpe had won their previous race, despite thirty-eight runners attempting the feat – with losers in that period including odds-on shots Battaash (2018) & Lady Aurelia (2017).

In the last ten years, putting £10 on every horse that had won their race prior to contesting the Nunthorpe would have resulted in a loss of £212.50.

Follow William Haggas & Kevin Ryan Runners in the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Stakes on Thursday

Thursday is Ladies Day and John Gosden’s Enable takes centre stage in the Yorkshire Oaks – which looks set to be her final start on British soil.

Prior to that, however, we have the Goffs UK Premier Yearling Stakes, which sees a field of twenty-two juveniles doing battle over six furlongs.

William Haggas and Kevin Ryan have been the go-to trainers in this contest in recent years, with that duo responsible for five of the last ten winners – producing a £245 profit when backing their runners to a £10 stake.

Over 44% of their combined runners in the past ten years posted a top-four finish, and the two yards have just the one representative apiece in this year’s renewal – with St Ives and Barbarella both around the 20/1 mark at the time of writing.