THE Irish have a really good recent record in the Sky Bet Ebor. It’s a bit like the Eurovision used to be. Like, in the 1980s and 1990s.

The spread of Irish trainers who have been victorious recently in today’s feature race is impressive too. Eight Irish-trained winners since the turn of the century/millennium, and only two trainers have won it more than once. And the spread is good today – five Irish runners, five different trainers.

All five have chances too. Queenstown has a favourite’s chance, according to the market. Aidan O’Brien’s horse ran really well against Kyprios last time in the Saval Beg Stakes, and his high draw is a positive, although he won’t have the assistance of Ryan Moore, who is at the Curragh instead today to ride Bedtime Story in the Debutante Stakes and Henri Matisse in the Futurity.

Willie Mullins mentioned the Ebor as a possibility for Hipop De Loire as soon as he finished second behind his stable companion Jackfinbar in a maiden hurdle at Galway three weeks ago, his first run for the champion National Hunt trainer, his first run since he ran in a Group 3 race at Hoppegarten in October last year.

And Magical Zoe is very interesting. Henry de Bromhead’s mare is a 143-rated hurdler who has run just three times on the flat. She ran very well in the Group 3 Stanerra Stakes at Fairyhouse last time, and has been given a flat rating of 101. That’s a flat rating with which she should be able to work.

Those three have all been well found by the market though. They’re onto the Irish trick. If a modern-day Sesenta was running in today’s race, under a modern-day Gary Carroll, claiming a modern-day 5lb, her modern-day odds would probably be a fraction of the 25/1 at which she was allowed to win in 2009.

There is probably a little bit of leeway in My Mate Mozzie’s odds, mind you, and there is probably a little bit more in Yashin’s. Jessica Harrington’s horse ran better than the bare form of the run suggests in last year’s renewal, he was short of room at a crucial stage of the race, and he was only beaten three lengths in the end by the winner Absurde.

Good company

The Churchill gelding has been keeping good company this season. He finished one place and less than three lengths behind Queenstown in the Saval Beg, he meets that rival on 2lb better terms, and he has had a wind operation since he finished down the field in the Northumberland Plate last time. It looks like the market may have under-rated his chance a little.

But it looks like the market may have under-rated Crystal Delight’s chance by a little bit more. That may be down to the fact that he was well beaten on his last run, in the Listed Fred Archer Stakes at Newmarket in June that was won by King Of Conquest.

But he was hassled by the other Godolphin horse on the front end early on that day, he probably went faster than ideal, and he faded from the two-furlong marker. It wasn’t his running.

He is much better judged on the performance that he put up in winning a 12-furlong handicap at York’s Dante meeting in May. He got out in front from early that day, and he stayed on strongly, going away from his rivals again inside the final furlong. The fourth horse that day, Klondike, has won a listed race and a Group 3 race since then.

That was just Crystal Delight’s second run for Harry Eustace. On his first, he had run out an impressive winner of a 10-furlong handicap at Epsom in April.

The handicapper raised him to a mark of 97 for that win, he proved that he was a fair bit better than that at York in May, and there is every chance that he is still better even than the mark of 105 off which he races today.

He is a front-runner or a prominent racer and, on the face of it, it’s not going to be easy to make all the running in an Ebor. But Trawlerman made all the running in 2022, and the early leader in 2020, Glencadam Glory, finished second, beaten only by Fujaira Prince, who raced prominently from early.

His draw in stall 17 is a positive too, you generally want to be drawn high in an Ebor. Three of the first four home last year were drawn 15 or higher, three of the first five in 2022 were 13 or higher.

Back at York, if he can get into a nice rhythm from early under Tom Marquand, and if he is allowed to set reasonable fractions, then he could run a big race.

City of York Stakes

Shouldvebeenaring could run a big race too in the City of York Stakes earlier in the afternoon, returning to York and stepping back up to seven furlongs.

In three runs at York, Richard Hannon’s horse has won the big sales race at this meeting as a juvenile, and he has finished second in the Group 2 Duke of York Stakes, beaten a head by subsequent July Cup winner Mill Stream.

Beaten in the Greenlands Stakes and in the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes on his next two runs, he bounced back to form last time when he got up to win a Group 3 race over six furlongs at Deauville. He should appreciate the return to York today, and he could improve for the step back up to seven furlongs. He is a strong stayer over six furlongs, and he put up one of the best performances of his career when he finished a close-up third in the Group 1 Prix de la Foret over seven furlongs at ParisLongchamp last October.

Shouldvebeenaring, 3.00 York, 8/1 (generally), 1 point win

Crystal Delight, 3.35 York, 25/1

(generally), 1 point each-way