72/1 ‘Banker’ Ante-Post Acca For York’s Ebor Festival
Four days of top-class racing await as the 2022 York Ebor Festival is just around the corner. We’ve studied the cards and picked out a 72/1 acca featuring some of the ‘bankers’ of the festival. Covering the majority of the big races, see which horses we think are solid enough picks to be included in our acca ↓
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BAAEED (Juddmonte International Stakes – Wednesday) 2/5
You simply can’t have a banker acca without BAAEED in it!
William Haggas’ star has a perfect 9-9 record over a mile and everything suggests the step up to 1m 2f will be a positive if anything. He’s the superstar of racing currently and you would surely be foolish to take him on!
He has won all three of his starts this year, all in Group 1 company. He ran out an easy winner of the Lockinge Stakes on season reappearance, before finishing comfortably clear of the field in the Queen Anne Stakes and Sussex Stakes. He’s got that touch of class about it where it almost feels like he knows he’s going to win, he’s just deciding on when to hit the front and how far he wants to win by!
Providing he handles the step up in trip (which we think he will), there shouldn’t be anything in here that comes close to him! We’re confident Baaeed will make it an unblemished 10-10 record.
DRAMATISED (Lowther Stakes – Thursday) 5/4
Next on the list is another unbeaten star, Karl Burke’s DRAMATISED. She’s only had the two races so far in her short career, but she has oozed class in both races, and the manner of her victory in the Queen Anne Stakes bodes well for a race like this.
Despite jockey Daniel Tudhope dropping the whip in the run-in, she still won cosily, and you could argue she had more left in the tank still after that. She may need to find extra this time around, with the likes of Mediate and Lezoo potentially lining up, but we’re confident she will improve again and rates a confident pick here!
We like the fact that trainer Karl Burke has decided to put her in here rather than pit her against older horses in the Nunthorpe, but the fact she was even considered for the Group 1 shows you the confidence he has in her. Providing she does win this, it won’t be long before we do see the star juvenile in Group 1 company!
ALPINISTA (Yorkshire Oaks – Thursday) 11/4
On to our next pick, and we can’t see ALPINISTA losing in the Yorkshire Oaks. Sir Mark Prescott’s star mare has won her last six races, including an impressive four Group 1’s on her travels across Europe, and can add a long overdue British Group 1 here.
She could only finish second in this race in 2020, when beaten by the fantastic Love, but she massively outran her 33/1 odds and proved that she has a liking for the course in the process. Since that run she has only lost one race, and that was a close second to Antonia De Vega in the Princess Royal Stakes on her last appearance of the 2020 season.
Her reappearance run this year in the Group 1 Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud was hugely impressive, and that should’ve set her up nicely for this. Granted, she does have to give 9lb to some talented rivals (including Magical Lagoon and Emily Upjohn), but she should have the quality to give them weight and a beating!
Three-year-olds may have dominated in this race recently (winning 8 of the last 9 renewals), but it was a five-year-old that bucked that trend when Enable won in 2018, and we believe Alpinista has that touch of class about her and can finally add a British Group 1 to her glittering CV.
STRADIVARIUS (Lonsdale Cup – Friday) 5/4
Surely this is the one where STRADIVARIUS finally gets back to winning ways?!
John & Thady Gosden’s star stayer has gone agonisingly close in his last two races, and with clearer runs arguably would have won both. With a clearer run here, we’re confident he can grab a deserved victory at a course he loves.
Strad has raced six times at York, and has won all six – including this race in 2018, 2019 and 2021. Although he is now an eight-year-old, he has proved he hasn’t lost any of his quality in all three races he’s had this year.
His first race of this season at York (Yorkshire Cup) was an easy enough victory, where he never really looked in trouble of losing the race. It was the other two races that gave us the most grief though. Had Frankie given him a better ride in the Gold Cup, he surely would’ve won. Similar can be said for his defeat by Kyprios in the Goodwood Cup – he was short of room and blocked in his run and still only missed out by a neck.
We know the class is there still, and he just needs a bit more luck in running. He has an unbeaten record at York and we’re convinced that this will be the one he finally gets the win his recent performances have deserved.
ROYAL ACLAIM (Nunthorpe Stakes – Friday) 7/4
What a race this is going to be! There’s plenty of big names set to line up here, but it’s James Tate’s star sprinter ROYAL ACLAIM who should take the world of beating.
The lightly-raced 3-Y-O has only had three races so far in her career, but she’s been impressive in winning all three. The form of her debut win has been well advertised since, with third-placed Perfect Power now a three-time Group 1 winner. Since then, she won easily on reappearance this year at Bath, before romping to victory in Listed level at York last month.
Her chances have been boosted by the withdrawal of Twilight Calls, which has resulted in her becoming a clear favourite, and deservedly so in our opinion! Trainer James Tate has said:
“The Nunthorpe has been the plan since she won the City Walls and, to be frank, we’ve just been counting down the days”.
That confidence is echoed by us as we’ll be cheering her home and hopefully be cashing in our banker acca!
*Odds Correct At Time Of Writing – 12pm Wednesday 10th August*
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