Sky Sports Racing pundit Kevin Blake has delivered his selections across two days of York's Ebor Festival, identifying value opportunities on both Thursday's Ladies Day card and Friday's Nunthorpe Stakes day.
The Ebor Festival runs across four days from Wednesday 19 to Saturday 22 August 2026. According to York Racecourse's official fixture information, Thursday 20 August is billed as Legends Global Yorkshire Oaks/Ladies Day with the opening race set for 1:50pm, while gates open at 11:00 each day of the meeting.
Thursday's three selections
Blake's first Thursday pick targets the Sir Kevin Sinfield 7 In 7 Grand Finale Handicap at 3:00pm, a race he describes as another fiendishly difficult handicap to unravel. He thinks William Haggas could hold the key with Bullet Point.
The five-year-old landed this very race last year off a mark of 100, travelling smoothly from a favourable draw before winning with real conviction. Since then, though, his progress has stalled somewhat. A trip to Australia ended in disappointment, and he then spent six months on the sidelines.
Blake suspects that since his comeback, the team around Bullet Point may well have had this exact race circled as their target. He ran with quiet promise across two starts in valuable handicaps earlier in the campaign, then, after another 12-week break, put in a solid performance in defeat at the Shergar Cup, only beaten by a rival that had got loose in front. He returns off an identical mark of 101 this time, and although his draw is not quite as kind as it was 12 months ago, Blake still rates him among the leading contenders.
The second race to note is the Mews Hotel Ossett EBF Stallions Nursery at 4:45pm, where Blake is sticking with Hugo Palmer's Mia Fantasia. Three weeks ago, this column backed the colt in a valuable nursery at Glorious Goodwood, where his run was far better than the result suggested after he endured a properly troubled passage.
Blake maintains the argument in his favour still stands. Mia Fantasia shrugged off his inexperience to score impressively on debut at Carlisle, before finding things a touch too sharp in a strong novice event at Ascot that was subsequently won by Dr Rascal, who went on to land the Vintage Stakes. Off a mark of 79, Blake feels he is fairly treated and should have taken plenty from his Goodwood experience, putting him in line for a big run.
The final Thursday race under the microscope is the British EBF Fillies' Handicap at 5:20pm, yet another brutal puzzle where Blake admits a case could be made for numerous runners. He is opting to look towards the lower end of the weights, siding with Ed Walker's Secret History.
The three-year-old has already banked three wins this season, headlined by a valuable success over seven furlongs at Newmarket in July. Raised 4lb for that effort, her team took a gamble stepping her down to six furlongs in a lucrative fillies' handicap at Glorious Goodwood, where she ran on well to finish third, though Blake felt the shorter trip asked a sharper question than ideally suits her. Returning to the seven-furlong test should play to her strengths, and he rates her chance highly.
Thursday's broadcast and race schedule
Per ITV Racing's coverage plans, the broadcaster's live output on Thursday runs from 1:30pm to 4:30pm, taking in the day's marquee contests including the 3:35pm Yorkshire Oaks and the 4:10pm British EBF and Sir Henry Cecil Galtres Stakes. ITV confirmed the Yorkshire Oaks as Thursday's Group 1 centrepiece.
Paddy Power's published race schedule lists a seven-race card for day two, running from the 1:50pm Lowther Stakes through to the 5:20pm British EBF Fillies' Handicap that features in Blake's picks, while also flagging Thursday as the festival's Ladies Day.
Meanwhile, Racing TV's results service showed that Wednesday's opening-day action at York had already been completed by 19 August 2026, with Air Force One taking the 13:50 and Haffner winning the 14:25, setting the tone before Thursday's card gets under way.
Friday's Nunthorpe Stakes focus
Blake turns his attention to Friday 21 August for day three of the festival, where the Coolmore City Of Troy Nunthorpe Stakes takes centre stage at 3:35pm. The sprinting division in Europe has been unpredictable in recent years, with big-priced winners consistently emerging, and Blake believes the conditions could favour an outsider.
His headline Friday pick is the Ralph Beckett-trained Starlust at 33/1. The five-year-old has an unconventional profile. Two years ago he was among the better five-furlong performers, finishing a close third to Bradsell in the Nunthorpe itself, getting no luck when holding every chance in the Prix de l'Abbaye and gaining his biggest win in the Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint at Del Mar.
Following a solid fourth in the King Charles III Stakes at Royal Ascot, Starlust was retired to stud in Australia where he got approximately 70 mares in foal. However, his connections were not pleased with his fertility rate and made the unorthodox decision to return him to training with Ralph Beckett.
Cases such as these do not always lead to racing careers being successfully revived, but there has been enough promise in the run-to-run progression of Starlust to suggest he is building to a big run. He needed his return to action at Carlisle and the King Charles III Stakes did not play out well for him, but he showed much more in a first-time visor when a never-nearer fourth in a Listed race over this course and distance last time.
Blake notes that Starlust has shown a particular liking for York in the past, including when there was plenty of ease in the ground. If he is going to get competitive in Group 1 company again, this could be the day to chance him at a very big price.
The British Stallion Farms EBF Convivial Maiden Stakes at 4:45pm is one of the most valuable maidens in the calendar and has duly attracted a very strong field. However, Blake believes one of the newcomers or unexposed runners will need to be very good to get the better of the Aidan O'Brien-trained Oklahoma.
The son of Wootton Bassett is out of no less than Hydrangea and he made a really promising debut when second to the exciting Giant Sequoia with a bunch of subsequent winners in behind. He was sent off a very short price to make it second-time lucky in a maiden at Killarney, but he could only finish third in a race that has already worked out very well.
The addition of cheekpieces and this bigger track will both be a help to him and he can be expected to be tough to beat even in this strong company.
Friday's race schedule and prize money
According to Paddy Power's day-three racecard, York stages a seven-race card on Friday with the Nunthorpe at 15:35 and the last race at 17:20. The day-three opener is the Sky Bet Mile Stakes Heritage Handicap at 1:50pm, followed by the Weatherbys Hamilton Lonsdale Cup at 2:25pm and the Gimcrack Stakes at 3:00pm.
The Nunthorpe Stakes prize money is substantial, with £340,260 to the winner, £129,000 for second and £64,560 for third.
What happens next
With Friday's seven-race card scheduled to run from 1:50pm through to the closing race, attention will then turn to the remaining fixtures. York Racecourse confirmed the Ebor Festival continues with Saturday 22 August, when the Sky Bet Ebor Handicap rounds out the four-day meeting.
