GEORGE BOUGHEY: York Ebor Festival – Day One

We don’t have any runners at York on the opening day of the Ebor Festival, but we have a busy Thursday ahead and there are two fascinating races to look forward to this afternoon, writes GEORGE BOUGHEY.

We do have Lake Como running in the 7.30 at Kempton this evening. I think he has a proper squeak. He was never particularly coltish, but I do think he has improved for being gelded and hopefully we can see that on the track tonight.

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💈 3.00pm York – Great Voltigeur Stakes

The Derby one-two reoppose in a fascinating Great Voltigeur, with both having to carry 5lb Group 1 penalties.

I think Maltese Cross can overturn the Derby form on this better ground. He showed plenty of zip to get through the gap late when winning in France.

It would also be a great result for Sam Haggas, who I work closely with and who bought Maltese Cross for his owner George Ward, who I also train for. I’ll certainly be cheering them on and I think he can take another step forward here.

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💈 3.35pm York – Juddmonte International

This looks like one of the races of the season, with leading Irish three-year-old Constitution River taking on Ombudsman, who I think is currently the best horse in the world.

I’m a huge Ombudsman fan and some of his performances, notably at Royal Ascot and here at York, have been truly spectacular. I think the son of Night Of Thunder can retain his crown.

There should be a really good gallop with plenty of pace in the race, and it will be fascinating to see how the different pacemakers are deployed, particularly by the Aidan O’Brien team.

Ultimately, I think Ombudsman’s turn of foot and his liking for a track like York make him the one to beat. He would be my selection in a race I’m really looking forward to watching.

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