Ebor meeting - Juddmonte International

Very hastily written lines before the first day of York's Ebor meeting...

The Acomb Stakes (2.15) for two-year-olds over seven furlongs looks fascinating but is well outside my comfort zone. The Great Voltigeur isn't a great race for favourites (two winners in the past decade) but the market has proved a decent guide to the International (3.25) with six winners in the same timeframe. Rip Van Winkle is likely to head tomorrow's market but he hasn't won over this distance, a comment that also applies to the only three-year-old in the field, Dick Turpin. Byword beat Twice Over in the Prince Of Wales's Stakes at Royal Ascot; drying ground will help Henry Cecil's bay but I take Andre Fabre's Byword to collect the spoils.

York's Juddmonte International

Seven go to post for the Juddmonte at York tomorrow and there's not much to choose between the top three, Dylan Thomas, Authorized and Notnowcato. I'm sticking with last year's winner Notnowcato who did this blog a favour when winning the Eclipse a few weeks back at odds of 7/1. He certainly won't be sent off that price but Sir Michael Stoute's consistent and honest charge still offers value at around 3/1 and there's the added bonus of Ryan Moore in the saddle.