By Tom Frary
After Britain's relatively quiet spell following the King George, it is time to take to the “Ascot of the North” for York's prestige Ebor Festival and a barnstormer to open the action on Wednesday. At the home of the famous old match races, we have probably the best of the season so far as Ryan Moore's “real deal” Constitution River (Wootton Bassett) looks to dethrone Ombudsman (Night Of Thunder) in the G1 Juddmonte International Stakes.
It is worth remembering that this place, which bore witness to the great historic duel between Voltigeur and The Flying Dutchman, was mooted as the meeting point for Dubai Millennium and Montjeu before injury intervened at the turn of the century and with its level playing field is the ideal venue for a fair fight.
What remains open to question is the equity of the weight-for-age scale, which puts Godolphin's stalwart at an instant disadvantage. Is there a horse in training capable of giving the Ballydoyle three-year-old seven pounds? Physically, does anybody believe that Ombudsman has that amount in hand for two years' worth of extra maturity? These are the questions that will have to be answered over the ten furlongs and 56 yards of this exacting test lasting just over two minutes.
Ombudsman won his race within a race 12 months ago, which if you extract the pacemaker Birr Castle from the picture was a three-furlong sprint for the main protagonists, but he can also do it off hard fractions as he proved at Royal Ascot last year and this. Constitution River ran over an almost identical trip to this in Chester's Dee Stakes in May and turned in a sensational time which marked him out as extraordinary even before he won his Group 1s. Forced to go too quick early on his next two starts at Chantilly and Sandown, he was able to maintain whereas others caved in and at this stage he has no identifiable weakness.
You sense that Moore and Aidan O'Brien just can't get enough of Constitution River and the trainer can't use up enough of his descriptive vocabulary either. “It's his power and his scope, the way he stays and quickens–he has a great mind and is developing really well with every month,” he said. “He's powerful, straightforward and relentless. He's very out there, he doesn't need to have a lead and he's very happy to do things himself, he's a very exciting horse, this.”
“There's every chance he'll get a lot further than this and so he'll benefit from an even pace, as we call it,” he added. “He has all the things you need and that will suit every horse. We'd rather get beat in that type of race than in a mess.”
While most of the talk surrounds the big two, there is also Juddmonte's Item (Frankel) whose two outings here have resulted in not-inconsequential wins in the course-and-distance Group 2s, the Dante and York Stakes. “He's only been beaten once and that was in the Derby when the ground went against him,” trainer Andrew Balding said. “He's a very talented horse and although he's going to have to improve a good deal again, we know the track suits him.”
“Last time, things went against him but he was very strong at the line against some good older horses and this strongly-run race will suit him better,” he added. “He's still untapped potential and the signs are that his performances are pretty strong. He probably needs ten pounds of improvement, which is a lot, but these horses do improve.”
Elsewhere on the opening day, the G2 Sky Bet Great Voltigeur Stakes is not short on star quality in its own right, with the Derby hero Christmas Day (Camelot) and runner-up Maltese Cross (Sea The Stars) lining up under five-pound penalties and on the form book at least therefore vulnerable to the former's stablemate Pierre Bonnard (Camelot).
George Waud and William Haggas have yet to decide on the Arc or St Leger for Maltese Cross, who went on to take a competitive renewal of the Grand Prix de Paris with a strong staying effort, and it is likely that this will tell them which way to go. “I don't like the penalty, but it is what it is and we've got no other choice if we want to run in the Leger or the Arc,” Haggas said. “It'll be a tough race, especially with his penalty, but he's very well and doesn't appear to mind any ground so we're very hopeful. I'd say he's going the right way. I don't know when it'll stop, but we'll find that out soon enough.”
Wednesday also boasts the G3 Tattersalls Acomb Stakes, one of a trio of Group races at the meeting for the two-year-olds and which plays host to Ballydoyle's TDN Rising Star and Vintage Stakes runner-up Haffner (Justify).
On Thursday, Juddmonte's King George heroine Kalpana (Study Of Man) will face a strong field in the feature G1 Legends Global Yorkshire Oaks after last year's winner Minnie Hauk (Frankel) and Wells Watson's Irish Oaks winner Johanna Walsh (Sea The Stars) were confirmed on Tuesday. The Andrew Balding-trained five-year-old occupies short-priced favouritism for the 12-furlong feature, in which Juddmonte are also represented by the Oaks runner-up Legacy Link (Frankel) from the Gosdens.
Completing the line-up are the Lancashire Oaks winner Tattycoram (Camelot), the dual Classic-placed Inis Mor (Galiway), the Ribblesdale Stakes winner Earth Shot (Time Test), the Irish Oaks third Sparan Nua (Dawn Approach) and Ballydoyle's Oaks third Sugar Island (Dubawi).
Also on the card, Aidan O'Brien has confirmed the recent Phoenix Stakes heroine Sun Goddess (Sioux Nation) in the Harry's Half Million By Goffs, while the Albany winner Libertango (No Nay Never) will face TDN Rising Star Star Of State (State Of Rest) in the G2 Sky Bet Lowther Stakes.
Friday is all about the G1 Coolmore City Of Troy Nunthorpe Stakes and Wesley Ward will be praying the rain stays away for Bacio (Maclean's Music), a strong favourite on the back of his tour de force in Royal Ascot's Palace Of Holyroodhouse Handicap. Francis Graffard will be hoping that he can produce a third Group 1 win this month for The Aga Khan Studs via his high-class filly Rayevka (Blue Point), while this looks to be the swansong of Britain's adopted Aussie queen Asfoora (Flying Artie). Also on the card are the G2 Weatherbys Lonsdale Cup for the stayers and G2 Al Basti Equiworld Dubai Gimcrack Stakes for the fast juveniles including the unbeaten Rose Bowl winner Arapaho Gold (Bayside Boy) representing the Michael Dods stable so synonymous with this meeting.
Saturday's action revolves around the key race of the week, the Sky Bey Ebor Handicap, but also includes the G1 Sky Bet City Of York Stakes, Britain's sole top-level contest over seven furlongs and very strong on paper to justify the status. Godolphin's Notable Speech (Dubawi) is in there at present along with Satono Reve (Lord Kanaloa), Lake Forest (No Nay Never), Zavateri (Without Parole), True Love (No Nay Never) and Ten Bob Tony (Night Of Thunder).
There won't be much left behind on the Knavesmire this week and we will all know a lot more about the relative standings of some of the best in training. We might very well even see the best of the best, as we have at this festival so many times before.
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