Put a gun to my head and ask what my favourite race of the flat season is, and I might just say the flying five furlongs of the Group One Nunthorpe Stakes at York’s Ebor meeting.
Memories of Sole Power’s twin successes; that brilliant year where Mecca’s Angel ran down the two-year-old Acapulco; last year’s photo finish between Marsha and Lady Aurelia – it’s always a great spectacle and the highlight in the sprinting calendar.
There can be no doubt the 2018 renewal has star quality, courtesy of the brilliant Battaash who, despite just the sole Group One success to his name, is without doubt the boss of the global five furlong stage.
You could make a case for Blue Point to beat him again after that minor upset at Royal Ascot where Battaash went too hard up front, but Battaash appears to be in far better form at this stage of the summer after a stunning victory at Glorious Goodwood.
Such is the obsession with Battaash, there are some very fruity prices on offer elsewhere and you should never be afraid of one in a Group One sprint where Lady Luck often has her say.
There’s two outsiders I have my eye on, and they’re both drawn close to the two favourites which I’m seeing as a positive.
The first is Mabs Cross at 18/1, who wasn’t far behind Blue Point and Battaash in the King’s Stand at Royal Ascot and is trained locally by Michael Dodds, winner of back-to-back renewals of the Nunthorpe with Mecca’s Angel.
It’s tough to assess her chance but I do have the nagging doubt she simply lacks the pace to compete with Battaash and would perhaps want an even bigger price to be confident of value.
The one I’ve settled on is Clive Cox’s HEARTACHE at a dismissive 50/1.
A Royal Ascot winner at two, she’s not really progressed from that as a three-year-old but has never lost her trainer’s faith, and Cox usually knows what he’s got, particularly with sprinters.
A half-sister to the legendary Sole Power, she appreciates top of the ground and, aged three, must have improvement in her.
Beating Battaash is a huge ask but 50/1 is a huge price – and a fairly unexposed three-year-old filly with all the weight allowances might be the best chance of beating him.
0.5pt each-way Heartache @50/1, 15:35 York, Friday (1,2,3,4, 1/5 with SkyBet)
One race earlier in the card, LEGENDS OF WAR looks a big price for Gimcrack Stakes glory for John Gosden and Qatar racing.
9/1 for a horse with such a big reputation on just his third career start seems good, as the Gosden team are in top form and he could have quite easily been given an easier target – they clearly think a lot of him.
Having been purchased for an enormous sum, the son of Scatt Daddy can be forgiven a defeat at Newmarket where his siblings haven’t shown their best form, and he looks the pick on pedigree.
1pt win Legends Of War @9/1, 15:00 York Friday
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