York's Ebor Festival moves into its second day on Thursday, and while the headline races will draw the eye, Sky Sports Racing's Kevin Blake believes it is the supporting card that could hand punters the sharpest opportunities.
According to Paddy Power, day two's feature races were scheduled for Thursday 20 August, including the Sky Bet Lowther Stakes at 13:50, the Sir Kevin Sinfield 7 In 7 Grand Finale Handicap at 15:00 and the Yorkshire Oaks at 15:35. The same source notes the card also featured the 14:25 Harry's Half Million By Goffs, the 16:10 British EBF & Sir Henry Cecil Galtres Stakes, the 16:45 Mews Hotel Ossett EBF Stallions Nursery Handicap and the 17:20 British EBF Fillies' Handicap.
Blake's first pick of the day comes in that Sir Kevin Sinfield 7 In 7 Grand Finale Handicap, a contest he describes as another brutally-tough handicap puzzle. He fancies William Haggas may hold the key with Bullet Point, the five-year-old who won this very race last year off a mark of 100 after enjoying a smooth passage from a good draw and scoring with authority.
Since that victory, however, Bullet Point's career hasn't quite followed the expected upward trajectory. A trip to Australia ended in disappointment, and that was followed by a six-month absence from the track. Blake suspects that since his return, the horse's connections may well have been building towards this exact race all along.
He showed subtle signs of promise across two runs in valuable handicaps earlier in the season, then came back from a further 12 weeks off to put in a fine losing effort at the Shergar Cup, only beaten by a rival who had got loose on the lead. He now returns to the same mark of 101 for this race, and although his draw isn't quite as favourable as last year's, Blake still rates him among the leading contenders.
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The nursery and fillies' handicap
Blake's second selection lands in the Mews Hotel Ossett EBF Stallions Nursery, now scheduled for 16:45 according to Paddy Power's race-time listing, rather than the 4:45 slot referenced in earlier previews. He is siding with Hugo Palmer's Mia Fantasia, a horse he backed three weeks ago in a valuable nursery at Glorious Goodwood. That run, he says, was undersold by the bare result, since the colt encountered a properly troubled passage and ran much better than the finishing position suggested.
The underlying case for the horse remains intact in Blake's eyes. Mia Fantasia overcame his own inexperience to win nicely on debut at Carlisle, before finding things too sharp to be fully competitive in what has turned out to be a smart novice race at Ascot, a contest won by the subsequent Vintage Stakes winner Dr Rascal. Blake regards a mark of 79 as very fair, and reckons the experience gained at Goodwood should stand him in good stead, tipping him to run a big race.
That earlier Goodwood assessment ties into a wider pattern of festival previews this summer; Newsboy's Saturday selections for the meeting had already flagged names such as Valedictory, Al Aasy, Santorini Star, Sondad, Naval Light, Market Leader and Blue Courvoisier as ones to watch across the card, as detailed in Newsboy's Saturday best bets for every race.
Blake's final selection of the day, now down as the 17:20 rather than the previously stated 5:20 according to Paddy Power's schedule, is another notoriously difficult handicap: the British EBF Fillies' Handicap. Blake concedes cases can be constructed for numerous runners, but chooses to look towards the bottom of the weights, settling on Ed Walker's Secret History.
The three-year-old has already racked up three wins this year, the standout being a valuable seven-furlong handicap victory at Newmarket in July. Raised 4lb for that success, her connections opted to drop her to six furlongs for a valuable fillies' handicap at Glorious Goodwood, where she ran on well to finish third but appeared to find the shorter trip sharper than ideal. Returning to the longer distance now, Blake believes, should suit her strongly, and he rates her chances highly.
Ladies' Day and the wider festival
Thursday's card has traditionally carried the Ladies' Day billing at York, with the Yorkshire Oaks standing as the meeting's marquee Group 1 at 15:35, according to Paddy Power's day-two cheat sheet. The Ebor Festival itself is York's flagship four-day summer meeting, with Thursday long associated with that Ladies' Day atmosphere built around the Oaks, per the same report.
Blake's preview series has run across the festival, having already produced selections for the opening day, as covered by Sky Sports on 18 August, underlining how the daily tipping column has become a fixture of festival week.
What happens next
Day two's action gets under way at 13:50 on Thursday 20 August, building towards the Yorkshire Oaks at 15:35, according to Paddy Power's schedule. Gates at York open at 11:00am each day of the meeting, with the first race off at 1:50pm, per Racing Ahead's festival guide. The same guide confirms the Ebor Festival runs from Wednesday 19 August through to Saturday 22 August 2026, meaning racing continues on Friday 21 August and Saturday 22 August after Thursday's card concludes.
