Wednesday’s York Tips: Tom Collins hopes sprinting stalwart can return to winning ways
By Tom Collins
Latest York Odds16 May 2023
York is regularly described as ‘one of the fairest tracks in the country’ due to its flat nature and five-furlong homestraight, which provides jockeys with ample time to make their move.
Long-striding types with an abundance of stamina for the respective distance of race they are competing in tend to overperform on the Knavesmire, while the nippier and more agile conveyance might not run to levels achieved at Chester and the like. Of course, that is a generalisation and there are always exceptions to the rule.
York’s Dante meeting offers up a phenomenal three days of high-class racing which includes a selection of extremely good betting heats. My advice would be to target the value plays in the handicaps - don’t get sucked into backing all of the unexposed market leaders!
Wednesday’s feature is the Group 3 Musidora Stakes (3.35 York) - a trial for the Oaks next month. Sir Michael Stoute, who has won the event eight times in his career, is represented by market leader Infinite Cosmos.
This daughter of Sea The Stars should be well suited by York and impressed on her reappearance earlier this month, but she’s a short enough price given the marked step up in class. However, opposing her for win purposes is extremely tricky given the majority of her rivals boast a similarly unexposed profile without the star power.
I’m happy to bypass the event and watch as an interested neutral, instead focusing on a couple of the big-field handicaps in the hope of finding a juicy winner. My first bet will come in the six-furlong Churchill Tyres Handicap (2.25 York), which has seen seven double-figure-priced victors in the last nine years.
Last year’s hero Dakota Gold and the unexposed Khanjar top the betting at around 15/2, and both appear to be drawn well in stalls 19 and 22 respectively. They are both players despite their contrasting CVs, but the former is 6lb higher than when he was successful 12 months ago while the latter has never won in a race involving nine or more runners. He could be a small-field bully.
These contests tend to go to experienced sprinters who have dropped down the handicap and become competitive again, and Kevin Ryan’s Bielsa ticks that box. This veteran has competed in events like this for the last four years and had his day in the sun in the 2021 Ayr Gold Cup.
Bielsa drew a blank from eight outings in 2022, but he performed admirably in this race (seventh) given his poor position in the early stages and then ran third in the Group 3 Chipchase Stakes a month later. There was no sign of real regression last term and that claim is backed up by his pretty promising return at Redcar last month.
Bielsa should strip a lot fitter for that race and will get his ideal ground conditions this time around, which will be the catalyst for further improvement. He’s able to race off just 95, 3lb lower than when he won the Ayr Gold Cup, and has the added bonus of Oisin Murphy taking over in the saddle. Providing he’s not too far back early on, he will surely go close.
I’m also drawn in by Adrian Keatley’s Kihavah, who will look to retain his crown in the closing Stuey & Friends Getting Out Handicap (5.15 York). A near-maximum field of 19 runners will go to post for this staying contest, though I’m pretty confident that the finish will be dominated by those towards the top of the market.
Kihavah was extremely strong in the betting in this event last year (6/1 into 7/2 on course) and overcame traffic issues inside the final two furlongs to win with ease off a mark of 79. He hasn’t won since and has mixed flat races with hurdling, but he tends to perform at his best at York and a recent spin over timber will have him 100% fit for this seasonal target.
Kihavah, who should be positioned in midfield early before making a bold bid late on, is down to a workable mark of 81 and Tom Marquand’s booking further indicates this could be D-Day. The current 8/1 on offer (9.4 on SBK) represents good value.