GEORGE BOUGHEY: York Ebor Festival – Day Four

 

We head into Saturday with six runners across York, Chester and Lingfield, with Hopewell Rock taking his chance in the Ebor, writes GEORGE BOUGHEY.

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Asuka – 2:05pm Chester

Asuka has unfortunately drawn the car park, which isn’t ideal, but he’s a horse we think is still going the right way. He had to be very tenacious at Thirsk last time, when he didn’t have the clearest run through, and that came relatively quickly after winning his novice under a penalty.

He’s had a little bit more time between runs now and his work has been very solid for the mark he’s been allotted. Stepping up another half a furlong should hopefully give Billy a bit of time to find his position from the wide draw and I think he’s a horse who can continue to progress.

Takaaful – 3:15pm Chester

Takaaful was very raw on debut at Yarmouth and I think you can notably upgrade that run. We’d hoped she might miss the kick and we could ride her the right way, but she was so fresh that she pinged the gates and we weren’t really able to do that.

She’s jumped forward significantly for the experience and I think she goes to Chester with a pretty decent chance in what looks a competitive conditions race.

Hopewell Rock – 3:35pm York

Hopewell Rock has drawn low in the Ebor, which wouldn’t necessarily have been my preference. Ideally I’d have liked him a little higher so we could pick a spot, but he’s a horse who can get back in his races and we’ll be looking to do things the right way with him. It will be over to Callum to navigate things from there.

He’s trained super into this, arguably even better than he did going into Goodwood, where he was at his best. He looks like a horse who is really coming of age and, with the staying division starting to open up again, I think there could be plenty more to come from him. If we can continue to teach him to race the right way, I think he’ll stay further in time and could develop into a really progressive stayer.

I don’t have any concerns about the ground. His action suggests he’d want it slow, but he was excellent on very fast ground at Goodwood when breaking the track record. He’s versatile ground-wise and you can completely disregard his Doncaster run at the end of last year, when he was far too above himself and desperately needed gelding by that stage.

Ivory Moon – 3:50pm Chester

Ivory Moon is a nice Night Of Thunder filly who seems to go pretty well at home. It’s the usual first day of school for her, but she’s been training with winners and seems to have plenty of boot for this trip.

She’s drawn one, which can be a little difficult around Chester, but she should jump nicely and I think she’s got the tactical speed to run very well around there. She’s only getting started, but we’re looking forward to seeing her on the track.

Westport – 5:00pm Chester

Westport is probably coming back towards a more suitable mark, but unfortunately the draw is a bit of a blow in 10 and it could be difficult to navigate a position from there.

He looked like he was crying out to get his toe in when he was run off his feet at Sandown, so there’s plenty more in his favour this time. He’s also done well physically for that run, although this is very much a sighter ahead of an autumn campaign.

Mount Street – 6:45pm Lingfield

Mount Street didn’t surprise me by running so well on debut at Newmarket. She’d been progressing towards a performance like that at home and this looks the perfect spot for her.

It’s a relatively quick turnaround, but Newmarket often doesn’t take a huge amount out of them. I think she can take a big step forward from her debut and go very close.

Best Chance: I’d say Asuka despite the draw. We think he’s a really useful horse and still has wiggle room from his mark.

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