The four-day Yorkshire Ebor Festival opens tomorrow at York Racecourse and 13 two-year-old thoroughbreds will be competing for Group honors when they go to the post in the $78,000 Sportingbet.com Acomb Stakes (Group 3) which is listed as the second race on the six-race card.
Balty Boys, trained by Barry Hills, is the lukewarm Twinspires 4-1 morning line favorite. In his last race, Balty Boys led from the start as the 7-4 favorite and went on to break his maiden by an impressive 4½ -lengths.
If Balty Boys repeats the form of his maiden win he should be competitive.
Balty Boys is a descendant of the Danzig sire line and that line produced the Acomb Stakes winners Waiter’s Dream (2010) and Fast Company (2007).
Cape Cross, the sire of Balty Boys, is also the sire of the outstanding thoroughbreds Sea The Stars, Ouija Board, and Able One. Some of his best two-year-old runners incluce Sea The Stars, Behkabad and Halicarnassus.
According to the Racing Post Top sires of two-year-olds list Cape Cross has two winners in 20 runners for a 20% strike rate.
Elusive Quality, the damsire of Balty Boys, has four two-year-old winners in nine runners for a 44% strike rate. Some of his best runners include Raven’s Pass, Smarty Jones, Quality Road, Sepoy and he is the sire of 2009 Acomb Stakes winner Elusive Pimpernel.
Two long shots I like are Furner’s Green (8-1) and Entifaadha (12-1).
Furner’s Green looked impressive winning his maiden debut by 3-lengths in a 7½-furlong maiden race at Tipperary Racecourse last month. Placed toward the rear of a 10-horse field, Furner’s Green steadily gained ground until taking the lead in the stretch to win with ease.
Furner’s Green looked like he had plenty of reserve left and a move forward off of that effort will make him tough to beat.
His sire, Classic Champion Thoroughbred and first-crop stallion Dylan Thomas, is ranked 49th on the Racing Post Top sires of two-year-olds list with four winners in 18 runners for a 22% strike rate. A win by Furner’s Green will move Dylan Thomas up the list and if he lives up to his breeding, Furner’s Green may have some classic potential.
Rainbow Quest, the damsire of Furner’s Green, was the 1985 Champion Older Male in England and France and the winner of the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.
Furner’s Green also has a nice tail-female line. His dam, Lady Icarus is the dam of stakes winners Mystical Lady and Lady Lupus. His second dam, Sonic Lady, was the 1986 Champion Three-Year-Old Filly in Europe and the dam of Group winners Hazaam and Sharman.
Entifaadha comes into the Acomb Stakes off of an impressive maiden debut win in the 7-furlong Ballygallon Stud maiden stakes at Newmarket on July 23. Entifaadha tracked the leaders in the 20-horse field before pulling away in the final strides to win by 2¾-lengths.
Entifaadha should improve off of that effort and I really like his pedigree.
Entifaadha, out of dam Model Queen, is a half-brother to multiple Group winning sprint specialist Regal Parade and middle-distance Group-placed Hot Prospect. (For the benefit of my American blog followers, in England all Middle Distance Division Group races for three-year-old thoroughbreds start at 10-furlongs while the Stayers Division Group races start at 12-furlongs.)
Dansili, the sire of Entifaadha, is ranked 17th on the Racing Post Top sires of two-year-olds list with eight winners in 16 runners for a 50% strike rate. Some of Dansili’s best two-year-old Group winners include Proviso, Passage Of Time, Zoffany, Strategic Prince and Shaweel to name few.
Classic Champion Thoroughbred Kingmambo, the damsire of Entifaadha is the sire of several Classic Champion Thoroughbreds in England and Japan as well as the Belmont Stakes winner Lemon Drop Kid.
Kingmambo sired Acomb Stakes winner Rule Of Law (2003) and King’s Best (1999) who went on to win the England 2,000 Guineas (Group 1). Kingmambo also is the grandsire of Elliot’s World, winner of the 2004 Acomb Stakes.
Classic Champion Thoroughbred Blushing Groom is the sire of Entifaadha’s second dam Model Bride and his sire line is well known as influence of Classic Champion Thoroughbreds Blushing John, Nashwan, Rainbow Quest and the 2011 Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom.
Mofida, the third dam of Entifaadha, is the grand dam of Zafonic, winner of the England 2,000 Guineas (Group 1),
Good luck at the Ebor Festival.
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