Ebor Target for overpriced Kihavah
A superb day of racing at York on the final day of the Ebor Festival.
The highlight has to be the Ebor Handicap with 300k to the winner along with a guaranteed place in the Melbourne Cup.
Kihavah takes the national hunt route to his race following an excellent second place finish in the summer handicap hurdle at Market Rasen. This horse has been a star for trainer Adrian Keatley with three wins and a second-place finish at York. Last summer he beat Prydwen (rated 95) at Ayr over 1m5f on good ground when rated 93. Prydwen won at decent handicap at Killarney last night off a 107-handicap mark. Kihavah finished off his 2023 season with a career best effort at Newmarket over 1m6f. He confirmed placings with Prydwen only to find the Godolphin runner Live Your Dream too strong.
Live Your Dream finished third in the Ebor handicap last season off a 5lb higher mark of 109. Kihavah returned this season in good form with a second-place finish here over 1m4f off a 2lb higher mark of 97. We can forgive his 9th place finish at Royal Ascot in the Copper Horse handicap as he was drawn low in stall 1 and the eight horses ahead of him all drawn in double digits. The trip of 1m2.5f of the John Smiths Cup was always going to be on the short side as this son of Harbour Watch needs 1m6f on a flat course to bring his stamina into play. All his races this year point to the Ebor Handicap being the big goal and he looks to have a great chance of 95 carrying 8-13 and Pj McDonald booked.
Sir Mark Prescott runs Sea King who arrives at York bang in form. As a 3yo he won over 1m4f on quick ground at Haydock and stays well. His 4yo campaign started well with a second to Cemhaan. Next up he beat Soto Sizzler at Goodwood over 1m4f on soft ground. He lost his form in his final two runs and was given a good long winter break. That time to mature and fill out his frame has paid dividends this season.
Sea King won well at Ripon off a mark of 93 when needing to be switched to the middle of the course to get a clean run and beat Knightswood. It didn’t happen for the horse in the Duke of Edinburgh stakes at Royal Ascot. He proved that Ascot run all wrong with an impressive win over Dark Moon Rising (3rd here yesterday) at Ayr in first time blinkers. The handicapper raised him 4lbs to a mark of 99. He proved that he could win off his new 99 mark with an eye catching third at Ripon behind winner Iron Lion and runner up Shadow Dance (won here yesterday). A draw in stall 9 should be fine as Sea King who remains unexposed over this 1m6f trip.
Willie Mullins is always dangerous in these staying handicaps and trained last years winner Absurde. He runs just the one this year, relying on new French recruit Hipop De Loire. He is short in the betting as is the Aidan O'Brien trained 4yo Queenstown.
York 3:35
0.5 point each way Kihavah 22/1 William Hill else 20/1 Bet365, both paying 6 places.
0.5 point each way Sea King 12/1 generally, look for 6 places.
Compare Odds at https://www.oddschecker.com/horse-racing
Best of Luck,
Nicky
Past Results
Click to see past Big Saturday Race Preview Tips results
The Ebor Handicap is a flat handicap horse race in Great Britain open to horses aged four years or older. It is run at York over a distance of 1 mile 5 furlongs and 188 yards (2,787 metres). It is scheduled to take place each year in August.
History
The event is named after the shortened form of Eboracum, the Roman name for York. It was first run in 1843, and it was originally known as the Great Ebor Handicap. The race was introduced by John Orton, a newly appointed Clerk of the Course at York. It was initially contested over 2 miles (3.2 km), but its distance was later cut by 2 furlongs.
The planned running of the Ebor Handicap in 2008 was abandoned because of a waterlogged track. It was replaced by an event at Newbury called the Newburgh Handicap, a reference to the town's original Norman name.
The race is now held on the final day of York's four-day Ebor Festival meeting, and it is the most valuable flat handicap in Europe. The prize money was increased to £500,000 from the 2018 running and then to £1,000,000 from 2019, making it the first British handicap race worth £1,000,000. In connection with the prize money increase three-year-olds were excluded from the race from the 2019 running. The prize money for the 2020 running of the race was reduced, in line with similar reductions in prize money of all British horse racing, due in part to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sky Bet Ebor Handicap Winners over past 10 years
| Year | Winner | Age | Weight | Jockey | Trainer | SP | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Absurde | 5 | 9-07 | Frankie Dettori | Willie Mullins | 7/1 | 2:56.41 |
| 2022 | Trawlerman | 4 | 9-03 | Frankie Dettori | John & Thady Gosden | 9/1 | 2:58.03 |
| 2021 | Sonnyboyliston | 4 | 9-08 | Ben Coen | Johnny Murtagh | 10/1 | 2:56.10 |
| 2020 | Fujaira Prince | 6 | 9-08 | Andrea Atzeni | Roger Varian | 11/2 | 3:04.22 |
| 2019 | Mustajeer | 6 | 9-05 | Colin Keane | Ger Lyons | 16/1 | 2:52.97 |
| 2018 | Muntahaa | 5 | 9-09 | Jim Crowley | John Gosden | 11/1 | 2:53.48 |
| 2017 | Nakeeta | 6 | 9-00 | Callum Rodriguez | Iain Jardine | 12/1 | 2:56.54 |
| 2016 | Heartbreak City | 6 | 9-01 | Adam McNamara | Tony Martin | 15/2 | 2:56.13 |
| 2015 | Litigant | 7 | 9-01 | Oisin Murphy | Joseph Tuite | 33/1 | 3:00.16 |
| 2014 | Mutual Regard | 5 | 9-04 | Louis Steward | Johnny Murtagh | 20/1 | 2:56.48 |
Best of Luck,
Nicky