Nunthorpe Stakes – Friday 19th August
The feature race on day 3 of the Sky Bet Ebor Festival is the Nunthorpe Stakes and here at Racing Tips, we have provided our 1-2-3 for the Group 1 contest which you can check out below, alongside an exclusive offer from Bet365: Get £50 in Free Bets when you place a £10 bet!
1. Royal Aclaim 13/8
ROYAL ACLAIM has quickly developed into a highly-talented sprinter for James Tate and while the unbeaten filly tackles her toughest test to date on Friday afternoon, there is every reason to think that the daughter of Aclaim can make her mark at Group 1 level and confirm that she is the next sprinting superstar to follow.
Despite making just one racecourse appearance during her juvenile season last year, Royal Aclaim certainly turned a few heads when quickening up well and hitting the line strongly to make a winning debut at Newcastle. A half-length winner that day, she claimed a couple of notable scalps when defeating subsequent Group performers Fearby and Perfect Power. Despite that promising start, James Tate’s sprinter was unfortunate to miss the remainder of the season through injury.
Returning to action following a 382 absence this year, Royal Aclaim confirmed that her debut victory was certainly no fluke when effortlessly pulling clear of four future winners at Bath in June. Pitched into the Listed City Walls Stakes on her most recent outing at York, she again produced a staggering performance, travelling powerfully in the hands of Andrea Atzeni before stretching clear of some useful rivals inside the final furlong.
Rated 108, Royal Aclaim has certainly looked like a Group 1 sprinter in her latest starts on track and although she is a short price at the head of the market, she appears to be a sprinter right out of the top drawer and the three-year-old is taken to make it 4-4 with Andrea Atzeni maintaining the partnership.
2. Emaraaty Ana 16/1
Given that there are plenty of confirmed pace angles in here, it could pay to take a chance on Kevin Ryan’s hold-up performer EMARAATY ANA, who should have this race run to suit.
A former Gimcrack Stakes winner, he benefitted from a gelding operation when landing the Sprint Cup at Haydock last September. After recording his first ever victory at Group 1 level, Kevin Ryan’s sprinter rounded off his 5yo campaign with a creditable fourth behind Wesley Ward’s sprinting star Golden Pal in the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint at Del Mar in November. However, the six-year-old has failed to scale those sorts of heights this year, finishing down the field in both of his outings in March over in Meydan before returning to British soil with a six-length defeat in the Platinum Jubilee Stakes at the Royal meeting in June.
Despite those questionable performances, the gelded son of Shamardal offered a bit more encouragement in the July Cup at Newmarket when last seen. Racing prominently throughout, the six-year-old was still in contention before weakening well inside the final furlong, hinting that a drop to the minimum trip would very much suit him.
With form figures of 1-0-3-1-2-4 over the five-furlong trip, it wouldn’t be a total surprise if Emaraaty Ana outruns his lengthy odds on Friday afternoon and it’s certainly worth remembering that he finished second at 40/1 in last year’s renewal behind Winter Power.
3. The Platinum Queen 3/1
The last juvenile to taste success in the Nunthorpe was Kingsgate Native back in 2007 and that particular age group appears to have a strong chance in this year’s renewal courtesy of Richard Fahey’s rapidly improving sprinter, THE PLATINUM QUEEN.
A 57,000gns breeze-up purchase, The daughter of Cotai Glory made the perfect start to her career when defeating a subsequent winner by a length on her debut at Ripon in June. Down the field on her second start in the Group 2 Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot, The Platinum Queen returned to winning ways with an impressive performance over five furlongs on the Knavesmire in July, dictating the pace under Oisin Orr before pulling away from her rivals inside the closing stages to win by 3¾ lengths. Heavily supported in the market in a conditions event at the Goodwood Festival nineteen days later, Richard Fahey’s filly produced a staggering display once again, bounding clear of her nine toiling rivals and clocking a sensational time figure in the process.
Supplemented for £40,000, connections will expect the filly to continue her rapid ascent as she tackles Group 1 opposition for the first time on Friday afternoon and she is certainly difficult to leave out of the reckoning in receipt of plenty of weight from her fourteen rivals.
