Ebor Festival Day Two predictions: Kalpana will be hard to beat in the Yorkshire Oaks
Liam Bramall
Ebor Festival Day 2: Best bet, each-way selection and treble
Recommended bets include:
The Angel King each-way in the Sir Kevin Sinfield 7 In 7 Grand Finale Handicap
We were treated to some excellent racing on day 1 of York’s Ebor Festival and there’s more Group 1 action on offer on day 2, with the Yorkshire Oaks taking centre stage.
King George heroine Kalpana will be the one they all have to beat but there are some Irish raiders who could still have something to say, including last year’s winner Minnie Hauk.
Keep reading to find out everything you need to know about Thursday’s York card and some top tips to help narrow down your shortlists.
Day 2 - Key Info
First race: 13:50 Lowther Stakes
Feature race: 15:35 Yorkshire Oaks
Group 2 action gets us underway with the Lowther Stakes (13:50) and there is a Royal Ascot winner among the field, while the valuable Harry's Half Million By Goffs (14:25) follows and there is a Ballydoyle runner who really catches the eye in that event.
The £150,000 Sir Kevin Sinfield 7 In 7 Grand Finale Handicap (15:00) looks like a very competitive affair and the race of the day, the Yorkshire Oaks (15:35) quickly follows that.
There are several interesting contenders among the 15-runner field for the Listed Galtres Stakes (16:10) and our penultimate race is a competitive 7f nursery (16:45).
Day 2 comes to a close with the British EBF Fillies' Handicap (17:20), which has a £100,000 prize fund and there are plenty of progressive fillies among the field.
Best bet of the day
Kalpana to win the Yorkshire Oaks (15:35) @ 11/10
It is very difficult to look past Andrew Balding’s star mare KALPANA and the five-year-old should prove very hard to beat.
She has taken her form to the next level this term and that bodes well for another big run, especially against her fellow fillies and mares.
The daughter of Study Of Man has won the Qipco British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes at Ascot in consecutive seasons and made the perfect start to the current campaign when producing a game performance to win a Group 3 contest at Newbury.
Maybe slightly disappointing in the Hardwicke Stakes at Royal Ascot, she left that run well behind her when winning the King George last time out and a reproduction of that form would give her a massive chance of landing another Group 1 prize on Thursday.
Best each-way bet of the day
The Angel King in the Sir Kevin Sinfield 7 In 7 Grand Finale Handicap (15:00) @ 22/1
French import THE ANGEL KING took a few starts to get the hang of things after moving to Ian Williams’ yard but there were some clear signs of a return to form at Chester last time.
Inconvenienced at the start, he recovered well to finish second by a length in the end and the four-year-old should not find the handicapper’s 1lb rise to be too problematic.
The son of Dark Angel is relatively lightly raced for his age and he won a couple of times in his native France; a Dieppe conditions race and a Longchamp handicap. This horse surely has a decent prize in him and this looks like a good opportunity to land one.
Day 2 Acca
We are back with another tantalising treble for Day 2 at York and Thursday’s picks combine to form a 9/1 accumulator. All three selections have big chances too.
Bet 1: Back Libertango to win the Lowther Stakes (13:50) @ 7/4
George Boughey’s LIBERTANGO looked very special when producing a powerful finishing effort to land the Albany Stakes at Royal Ascot and if running to a similar level here, the daughter of No Nay Never can claim another group race prize.
Bet 2: Back Sun Goddess to win the Harry's Half Million By Goffs (14:25) @ 5/6
SUN GODDESS managed to beat the boys when landing the Group 1 Phoenix Stakes at the Curragh recently and she should be far too good for her rivals on that evidence. Connections have dropped her in grade for big pay day and victory should be on the cards.
Bet 3: Back Kalpana to win the Yorkshire Oaks (15:35) @ 11/10
It would be a bit of a shock if Andrew Balding’s KALPANA fails to get the job done in the Yorkshire Oaks. She landed the King George last time out and this race is significantly weaker.
