A bird’s eye view of Ebor Handicap
The Ebor Handicap is a well-known horseracing event, which is hosted by York usually in August every year. It is run over a distance of one mile and six furlongs, and a lot of high-profile horses come to partake in the Heritage Handicap every season. The
2012 edition of the class 2 meeting is scheduled to be held on Saturday, August 25th.
The mega event is named after the shortened name of Eboracum – the Roman name for York. Originally known as the Great Ebor Handicap, it started taking place in 1843.
The race was firstly run over two miles, but the authorities later cut the distance by a couple of furlongs. Currently the most valuable flat handicap in Europe, the race generally takes place on the final day of Ebor Festival.
The spectators at York witnessed a huge upset in last year’s contest. Moyenne Corniche, who was carrying the odds of 25 to 1, surprised everyone by grabbing the first position. Brian Ellison’s charge held up in rear early on, but quickly got his act together
to make himself prominent.
After switching right, he pumped up his speed to a great extent, stretching his advantage considerably inside the final furlong. Ridden by Dale Swift, the son of Selkirk stayed on strongly to retain his lead in the last 100 yards, beating Tactician by a
length’s distance.
"Moyenne Corniche and Saptapdsi have been working together and I couldn't see them out of the first four. Moyenne Corniche has to be ridden from behind and loves a bit of juice. Saptapadi got lit up and was too keen, if we'd dropped him out he probably would
have won. It was a great result and it's nice to win a big one," Ellison said after winning the historic event for the first time last year.
Almost every famous trainer runs his charge at York every season. The likes of Willie Mullins, Saeed bin Suroor and Aidan O’Brien have enjoyed success in this race, and would be trying their luck this season as well.
The 2012 Betfred Ebor (Heritage Handicap) has attracted plenty of strong runners. With so many powerful horses in the line-up, the audience can easily anticipate a nail-biting clash.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and do not reflect Bettor.Com’s editorial policy.
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