2026 York Ebor Festival Friday Preview

We did better on Thursday. Miss Kodi was too keen early but held on for a place in fourth at 33s (R4 applies). Thebesthasyetocome got no run up the inner and couldn’t overcome the Pricewise hex, Cerulean Bay ran a shocker and then Sparan Nua was beaten a short head at 28s. Two places to steady the good ship Stevos which was listing badly after day 1, check out his 2026 York Ebor Festival Friday previews and tips below.

1.50 – Mile Handicap (heritage)

It looked like the rain had properly gotten into the ground by the end of the day at York so we’ll be looking for horses that handle cut in the ground today. A low draw is also usually a big plus in big fields over 1m here and the horse that ticks both of those boxes is the George Scott trained son of Sea The Stars, Command The Stars.

This gelding was first past the post ahead of Noelan Star and Daydreama in a five runner 1m handicap at Ripon last time but got demoted to third for interference and he’s been nudged up 2lb for that. It marked a welcome return to form for the gelding after a pretty dire start to the season and I’m hoping that he can do even better on his first soft ground run of the campaign.

He scored in a Listed race in France on very soft ground last season and there was also cut in the ground for his novice win at Lingfield last July. Overall, he is 2-3 on ground with soft in the description and the sole defeat came in a G3, which can be forgiven. He’s got a nice draw in stall 6 so at 40/1, Command The Stars gets the e/w vote.

2026 York Ebor Festival Friday Tip: Command The Stars e/w @ 40/1 (5 places)

2.25 – Lonsdale Cup Stakes (Group 2)

Another one for the plodders and this will be a particularly slow race given the prevailing conditions. The only two horses that are big enough for the blog are French Master, who likes rattling quick ground, and Quickthorn, who has been off the track since September 2024. No bet.

2026 York Ebor Festival Friday Tip: No bet

3.00 – Gimcrack Stakes (Group 2)

Bayside Boy has made a solid start to his career at stud and his son Arapaho Gold is the 3/1 fav here. All three of his wins have come on good to firm ground, however, so the ground is a worry but his dam handled an ease, so that offers hope to his supporters.

This really is a guessing game on soft ground because none of these have raced on worse than good. I probably should leave this race well alone but there could be an upset given the conditions so I’ve had a good look through the pedigrees and one that is at least bred to go on easier ground is the 33/1 outsider Great Oak.

Karl Burke trains this son of Mehmas and he made a winning start on debut at Ayr last month. That was over this trip on good to firm but on breeding, he should be even better on softer ground. His dam, Stamina, won on the AW but she’s related to a slew of soft ground winners, including Silasol, who won the French 1000 guineas on heavy and another G1 on soft.

This is speculative so don’t have the farm on, but with odds of 33/1 on offer, Great Oak is worth chancing e/w for small stakes.

2026 York Ebor Festival Friday Tip:  Great Oak e/w @ 33/1 (4 places)

3.35 – Nunthorpe Stakes (Group 1)

Our e/w lucky 15 isn’t going too well. Zaydann did run a big race but missed out on the places. Cerulean Bay never raised a gallop. We rely on Heavenly Heather here but I’m concerned about the ground for her. She did run well on her sole previous start on soft but that was in a handicap and this is obviously much harder. Fingers crossed for a decent run but confidence is dwindling.

One horse that won’t mind the conditions is an old friend of the blog, Jm Jungle. He’s been running well enough in G1, Listed and G2 company on faster ground this season and he’s a horse that handles an ease in the ground.

His last win came on good to soft in a Goodwood G2 last August and he has also won a handicap on soft. He’s a course winner over 5.5f and he was far from disgraced when beaten just over 2l behind American Affair, Rumstar, Time For Sandals and Asfoora at Goodwood last time out.

Those four horses re-oppose here and are shorter odds, but I think the blinkers are an interesting addition for this horse and his ability to handle easy ground is an obvious asset. The biggest worry is his draw in 16 but if he pings the gates, hopefully this prominent racer can sneak into the frame at odds of 33/1.

2026 York Ebor Festival Friday Tip: Jm Jungle e/w @ 33/1 (4 places); Heavenly Heather already advised e/w @ 50/1

4.10 – Assured Data Handicap (Heritage)

Hamad Al Jehani is becoming a dab hand at landing big festival handicaps and he might nick some more prize money here with his son of Frankel, Ernst Blofeld. A two-time winner on the AW, he’s raced exclusively on quick ground on turf with no success.

In fairness, his last two runs at Ascot were pretty respectable, over 1m6f when beaten 5.5l and over 1m4f when beaten 4l. He’s been dropped a measly 1lb for those two runs but I’m hoping he’ll be a different proposition now tackling soft ground for the very first time.

He’s by Frankel, who has sired plenty of soft ground performers and he’s closely related to Autumn Winter, who placed twice on heavy. His Dubawi dam won a G3 on soft and she’s a half-sister to Querari, who won a G1 on heavy and Sharja Bridge, who won on soft. With odds of 28/1 on offer, I’ll take my chances on Ernst Blofeld e/w.

2026 York Ebor Festival Friday Tip: Ernst Blofeld e/w @ 28/1 (5 places)

-DaveStevos