Bullseye: 'The Knavesmire’s four-day fête fantastique trumps anything else in the calendar'

“The man who decries York racecourse as not the best in the world – well he would be a brave soul indeed.”

That’s not a real quote, but it should be. After all, this week is Ebor week - and as far as I’m concerned, the Knavesmire’s four-day fête fantastique trumps anything else in the calendar. 

Imagine my chagrin, then, when I realise I’ve booked four days of holiday over the exact period for a sojourn in Milan. Naturally I shouldn’t complain about sunning myself on the banks of Lake Como, but the thought of watching Royal Acclaim brutalise her opposition in the Nunthorpe on my pixelated android gives me the shudders.

Indeed, while I’m baking in the Italian sunshine of Milan’s Piazza del Duomo, runners in the opening heritage handicap on Wednesday will be thundering down the extended five furlongs to kickstart the meeting. Roger Varian’s Dusky Lord and Robert Cowell’s Atalis Bay are likely to be among the favourites, but no doubt the York faithful will be roaring on Dakota Gold, whose eight-year-old frame is veneered with more of a gleam than ever before. 

Swiftly following that is the Group 3 Acomb Stakes, and a chance for future Guineas prospects to show what they can do. Local Dynasty took the breath away on debut at Newmarket and no doubt the son of Dubawi will be expected to follow up, though Mill Stream, and at a bigger price Oviedo, will be hoping to spoil the Godolphin party. 

If Carlsberg did Ebor Festival openings, they wouldn’t come more mouthwatering than this. After all, the intertwining of fiercely competitive handicaps alongside Group races for the raw and unproven is what makes racing such a wonderful sport. On a normal afternoon you’d be happy with just the two races mentioned above, but we haven’t even got to the Great Voltigeur yet. 

In the last ten years, the likes of Postponed, Cracksman and Pyledriver have won the 1m4f St Leger trial, a race that so often trampolines horses to greater heights. Charlie Appleby would appear to hold the keys to the castle in this one with both Secret State and Walk Of Stars boasting prodigious claims, though Aidan O’Brien’s Aikhal could be a fascinating contender over a trip more in keeping with his pedigree.

Baaeed: looks for a tenth consecutive success in Wednesday's Juddmonte International

And then arrives Wednesday’s plat du jour, together with its piece de resistance – Baaeed. William Haggas has an embarrassment of riches at his disposal this season, the only difference is that Baaeed is blockbuster material. The manner of his victories (only just doing enough, like his father) means he’ll never identify with the wider public in the same way as Frankel - but you can be sure the knowledgeable York crowd will be queuing ten-deep to catch a glimpse. 

Hopefully when he bolts up on the bridle he'll begin to receive the credit he deserves. Yes it’s a shame Desert Crown isn’t ready to take him on, but we in the sport of kings are accustomed to big-clash anticlimaxes. Let’s just enjoy a master thoroughbred hoofing his rivals into submission. 

There are just so many wonderful races this week. The 4.10 on the opening day is one of my favourite handicaps of the year - a 2m stamina-sapper for three-year-olds and older horses. Then there’s the £100,000 sprint to close proceedings, and this is all before we even come to Thursday. And it’s not as if day two isn’t a veritable feast as well. Talking of which, by this point I should be tucking in to a succulent Risotto Milanese, a fine accompaniment to the Group 2 Lowther Stakes. Dramatised will be all the rage for this one, and expect connections’ decision to swerve the Nunthorpe rewarded with a victory. 

On the subject of speedsters, wasn’t it wonderful to witness Mums Tipple rewinding the clock at Newmarket last weekend? Only three years ago we saw him rip the Goffs Premier Yearling field apart in extraordinary style. It’s unlikely we’ll see a performance of that ilk this week, but the progressive Metahorse could be a tough cork to pop in the 2.25. 

Then we come to the Clipper Logistics Handicap, a race where you have as much chance of picking a winner as spelling ‘Rhoscolyn’ correctly (he wouldn’t be without a chance, by the way), before we reach Thursday’s feature - the Yorkshire Oaks. 

Former Soviet kingpin Mikhail Gorbachev would be thrilled with this year’s renewal, because openness (‘glasnost’) was a public ideal he strove for. It doesn’t come more open than this, with Alpinista, Blue Lagoon, Tuesday and La Petite Coco all holding clear and obvious chances. A Group 1 to savour, even without the presence of Emily Upjohn. 

Tuesday (navy): runs in Thursday's Yorkshire Oaks. Emily Upjohn (red) bypasses the event

Day two’s end is rather a diminuendo of a denouement, but don’t forget the Galtres Stakes at 4.10. One of my more enduring memories of the Knavesmire in recent times is watching Lah Ti Dar scorch the turf on the way to a ten-length demolition job in the 2018 edition. More of the same, please.

That brings us to the half-way point! Friday brings with it two Heritage Handicaps, a £100,000 mile puzzle; the Convivial maiden, and three delectable Group races. The violins were out when Stradivarius was beaten fair-and-square in the Goodwood Cup but, now that Kyprios isn’t in his way, the Lonsdale Cup should be his in the bag. 

Trueshan needs rain, something that both he and I have forgotten exists, while Quickthorn and Coltrane need to eke out something more at this level. Kudos to connections of Mostly Cloudy for having a crack – the 93-rated colt has won five on the bounce, culminating with victory in the Brown Jack at Ascot last month.

Half an hour later, precocity is at a premium in the Gimcrack. Noble Style was made to work hard to win on the July Course a couple of weeks ago, but it's likely he saw off two very smart sorts in the process. The boys in blue will be hoping he’s as good as he looks in the flesh, but neither Royal Scotsman nor Persian Force will make life easy. It should be a sprinting showdown to savour, as should the feature race on Friday – the Nunthorpe. 

Royal Acclaim is a monster filly who trounced her rivals in the Listed City Walls Stakes, and she really did look as though she’d been catapulted from a trebuchet, such was the unbridled speed she produced on the way to victory. This is a Group 1, let’s make no bones about it, but she has something special about her. I can’t wait to see her strut her stuff once again.

Stradivarius (black and yellow): back in action in the Lonsdale Cup

In between three phenomenally fiendish handicaps on Saturday sit the ‘big two’ – the City of York Stakes and the Ebor itself. The machinators of York racecourse have long been pushing to make the former a Group 1 event - after all, we don’t have a single 7f top-level race in this country - and hopefully in the next year or two they’ll be granted their wish.  

Given the dearth of options over the trip, it’s hardly surprising that this is likely to be the most competitive Group race of the week. Aldaary, Kinross and Alcohol Free all bring top-notch form to the table, while fillies Sacred, Sandrine and Sense Of Duty provide both a sibilance as well as a potent threat. 

Finally, we come to the race after which the great festival is named - the Ebor. As always, it’s a who’s who of talent, with almost all the runners rated 100+. And, just like last year, we could have an Irish winner, this time in the shape of Earl Of Tyrone. Of all the shrewd trainers in the game, none come close to touching the lapel of Paddy Twomey, and it’s a tip in itself that he believes his four-year-old is capable of landing a fourth win on the bounce in one of the biggest pots of the season. 

The Irish challenge is prodigious this year, with Joseph O’Brien’s Okita Soushi, Jessica Harrington’s Ever Present and Willie Mullins’ M C Muldoon all holding claims. Battling to wrest the advantage back to Blighty will be Gaassee, Candleford and Hamish – all trained by William Haggas, funnily enough. Wouldn’t it be great, though, if John Leeper won? 

Unfortunately I’ve seen mutterings and disgruntlement on social media declaring this year’s meeting is disappointing compared to the usual fare. But I couldn’t disagree more. What’s disappointing is regularly watching Saturday cards with fewer runners than make up a single Grand National, a trend that has become all too familiar.  

The magnificent Grey Horse Handicap had five runners at the weekend. Five! So there should be no complaints in a week where numbers are bountiful, competition is rife, and the atmosphere is off the charts. I can’t wait. Forza!