Day one of the Ebor Festival gives racing fans a brilliant card to get stuck into. Our man Sam Boswell has scoured the cards to find his picks for the opening day.
Juddmonte Field Full Of Stars
The Juddmonte International offers a battle between seven quality horses. The loss of St Mark’s Basilica to the field means we get the chance to see Love again, sent by connections to take her chance to get the better of Mishriff.
Her only previous appearance at York resulted in an easy win when claiming a facile victory in the Yorkshire Oaks as a three-year-old. We have seen her just twice so far this season, she kicked off the season winning the Prince of Wales at Royal Ascot before finishing third in the King George at the same venue.
Despite getting slightly boxed in at one stage of the race, I think Mishriff showed his edge over the 2020 Oaks winner.
John and Thady Gosden’s horse is no stranger to the big stage and to my eye has plenty to suit him. The going should be perfect and his trainers are in serious form, boasting around a 35% strike rate in the last two weeks. Whilst Mishriff is the selection, I do believe Alcohol Free deserves huge respect and it is very sporting of her connections to pitch their three-year-old in here after a brilliant win at Goodwood.
We should have a great race in store, I think Mishriff will land the spoils for favourite backers in the Juddmonte.
🏇 Seven declared for the Juddmonte International Stakes.
Juan Elcano
Mishriff
Love
Alenquer
Mac Swiney
Mohaafeth
Alcohol Free pic.twitter.com/RlDzPse4z7— BetVictor Racing (@BetVictorRacing) August 16, 2021
Day One Finale Could Be Wonderful
The closing handicap looks as you would expect for York, a highly competitive affair. We have five places on offer for anyone looking for an each way bet.
Having looked at the race I think that Wonderful World ticks plenty of boxes.
His second in the Brocklesby has worked out very well form wise. Last time out he broke his maiden at Brighton over six furlongs, whilst that wasn’t the strongest race the manor of the victory impressed me, David Probert rode that day and retains the ride here arriving at York in fantastic form, off a mark of 82 I think Wonderful World can go close in the closing race of the day.
