York Ebor — 21 August 2026

Class 2 · 0m7f192y · Good To Soft · 20 ran

We passed. Likely winner: Zennor Storm (7/2)

Won by: Blue Courvoisier (GB) at 13/2 · then Eklleem (GB), Krasimir (IRE), Outback Heat (GB)

What we said: Twenty runners in a competitive heritage handicap with the softer Good-to-Soft ground an unknown for most of the field, and the case splinters across too many live contenders: Zennor Storm heads market on solid recent placed form but has never raced on this ground, Welbury arrives on a two-race winning streak for a red-hot Bethell yard yet is also untested on the cut-up surface, and Krasimir's steam and St Anton's smart recent figures both muddy the picture further. With no draw bias to lean on and four-plus runners carrying legitimate claims at broadly similar prices, there's no single case here I'd back with my own money.

Class 1 · 2m0f56y · Good To Soft · 9 ran

We passed. Likely winner: Caballo De Mar (9/4)

Won by: Al Nayyir (GB) at 9/1 · then Illinois (IRE), Mount Atlas (GB)

What we said: The market makes Caballo De Mar a warm order off two lengthy layoffs' worth of caution (64 days off, and this yard's runners have a modest history after such breaks), while Amiloc's last effort was a non-completion that tells us nothing about his true form, and Mount Atlas arrives with a solid course record and a recent win but is stepping up in trip for the first time; too many moving parts and no standout case clears the bar in a well-fancied nine-runner Group 2. Quickthorn's market drift and Illinois's ground concerns (Galileo stock wanting cut, and this is on the quicker side of Good to Soft) only add to the muddle.

Class 1 · 0m6f0y · Good To Soft · 12 ran

We passed. Likely winner: Arapaho Gold (11/4)

Won by: Arapaho Gold (IRE) at 2/1 · then Final Objective (IRE), Hell Of A Spin (IRE)

What we said: Too many overlapping claims in a wide-open Gimcrack: Arapaho Gold's unbeaten 111 form and quick early gate catch the eye, but Marco Polo carries the O'Brien/Moore booking that has run well ahead of the market this season, and Adaay of Scarlett arrives fresh off cheekpieces with solid course-and-distance form of his own — none of them separates cleanly at the price, and not one runner in the field has raced on today's good-to-soft, adding a layer of doubt to every form line. With three genuine types in play and the surface unproven for all of them, there's no single bet here I'd back with conviction.

Class 1 · 0m5f0y · Good To Soft · 18 ran

We passed. Likely winner: Bacio (9/2)

Won by: Bacio (USA) at 3/1F · then Starlust (GB), Rumstar (GB)

What we said: Too many live claims in this Nunthorpe field to isolate one: Bacio brings the best form figure in the race but is fresh off 63 days and untested on this searching ground, Rayevka is similarly fresh and unproven at this trip on soft, American Affair arrives in career-best form with a favourable draw, and Mission Central, Night Raider and Asfoora all have credible claims too — that spread of plausible winners at short-to-mid prices is exactly the shape of race to sit out.

Class 2 · 1m3f188y · Good To Soft · 17 ran

We passed. Likely winner: Primo Lara (6/1)

Won by: Plage De Havre (GB) at 11/2 · then French Duke (IRE), Say What You See (IRE), Primo Lara (IRE)

What we said: Seventeen runners in a red-hot heritage handicap where the claims stack up three and four deep — Primo Lara arrives on a two-race winning streak, Master Builder returns from a break but won impressively last time out at the track and trip, Plage De Havre carries the top rating but has never raced on this exact going, and Say What You See and Truth Be Told are both progressive types with course form to boot — nothing separates them cleanly enough at these prices to make a stand. Fields this size and this level are built to be unpredictable, and forcing a single name here would be chasing a narrative rather than backing a genuine edge.

Class 2 · 0m7f0y · Good To Soft · 15 ran

We passed. Likely winner: Oklahoma (7/4)

Won by: Benjamin Hornigold (GB) at 16/1 · then Dover Street (IRE), Sole Ambition (GB)

What we said: Oklahoma heads the market on solid placed form over course-adjacent trips and carries a sire-line tick for today's cut in the ground, but he's never raced on this exact surface and the first-time cheekpieces are as much a question as an answer; Lancaster Tower, Launch Sequence and Sole Ambition all have plausible claims of their own in a fifteen-runner maiden where nobody has proven form on good-to-soft, so there's no single case strong enough to back at the price on offer.

Class 2 · 1m2f56y · Good To Soft · 17 ran

We passed. Likely winner: Silver Lake (11/4)

Won by: Silver Lake (GB) at 11/10F · then Pendella (IRE), Dream Camp (IRE)

What we said: Seventeen fillies going to post is exactly the size field that punishes conviction, and Silver Lake's 11/4 already reflects a clean course-and-distance record (two runs, two wins) without leaving room to add anything the market hasn't priced; behind her, Lady Dora Mae, Plaid, Dream Camp and Pendella all arrive with genuine recent form and none is separable from the pack on today's softer ground. This is a race to watch, not to punt into blind.