HIGHLY competitive sprints are something of a feature of the four days of York’s Ebor Festival, and the Hong Kong Jockey Club World Pool Handicap (1.50pm) that opens Day One is a typical example.
A field of 20 line up and will fan out across the Knavesmire, with the five-and-a-half-furlong dash for home set to last a shade over a minute from stalls to winning post.
It goes without saying that you need plenty of luck in running in these sorts of races, so the option of combining several selections in a World Pool Quinella is certainly an attractive one.
If we can manage to correctly predict the first two finishers, in any order, we could be looking at a handsome return from a minimal outlay, which is the beauty of the exotic markets World Pool offers.
Richard Spencer’s THE MAN was an impressive winner when last seen winning over five furlongs at York in May.
Having been highly tried in his two-year-old campaign, he was given a wind operation in the off season and returned with a bang on his handicap debut.
To win a competitive handicap by over two lengths at this trip pointed to him being a very well-handicapped horse, and an eight-pound rise in the weights shouldn’t be enough to stop him if returning in the same form after a break.
The draw can play a part in the result over the sprint course at York, but being housed in stall 11 should mean Paul Mulrennan has the choice which group to track aboard JORDAN ELECTRICS.
While Jim Goldie’s runner is getting a bit long in the tooth as a nine-year-old, he has shown he still retains plenty of spark when winning a remarkable seven races last season.
On the second of his two starts this season, he showed up well for a long way in Goodwood’s Stewards’ Cup, when looking to be drawn on the wrong side.
Back on a sounder surface and now two pounds lower in the weights, he looks capable of a big run.
To complete the Quinella, add AIR FORCE ONE, who was a good winner of the Jump Jockeys’ Nunthorpe over five furlongs here last month.
A six-pound rise looks fine for this lightly raced four-year-old, who could still have more to offer.
POINTERS WEDNESDAY
The Man, Jordan Electrics, Air Force One (Quinella) 1.50pm York