English/Ire
‘He is a must bet following a break’ - Sam King’s daily wagers
Sam King is back with four selections on Wednesday
York's Dante meeting gets underway this afternoon, with some high-class group action on show alongside some competitive handicaps.
William Haggas has won of the last five renewals of the opening mile and a half handicap, so it's easy to see why the unexposed The Reverend is towards the top of the market in the 2.10.
However, he's unproven on ground this quick and it could pay to side with Plage De Havre, who represents a yard that are often carefully selective with the horses they run in this contest.
He was ultimately pulled-up after setting frantic fractions over an extended two miles in a competitive handicap on all-weather finals day at Newcastle last time. It could just be best to draw a line through that effort, and if so, he looks progressive on his prior all-weather form.
The form of his second-place finish behind Wonder Legend off this mark at Wolverhampton looks solid, while dropping back to a mile and a half on quick turf could be right up his street, especially given I'm not convinced that he's a stayer over the two-mile trip.
Andrew Balding has started the season in fine form, and while his strike-rate has dropped in recent weeks, this gelded son of Le Havre can ensure he starts his week on the Knavesmire firmly on the right foot.
1pt Win - Plage De Havre
Odds – 9/2
Later on the card, Elite Status surely holds massive claims in the Group 2 Duke Of York Clipper Stakes.
The booking of Ryan Moore will certainly entice plenty of players into backing Inisherin, who has undergone a subsequent wind-operation, but it's Elite Status in the same ownership who makes the most appeal.
Disappointing runs in both the Group 1 Sprint Cup and Qipco British Champions Sprint Stakes at the end of last season will put plenty of people off, but he's better judged on his earlier form. Karl Burke's unexposed four-year-old looked a horse destined for Group 1 success when making a striking winning reappearance in the Listed Carnavon Stakes at Newbury on his reappearance last season, while he had both the Commonwealth Cup runner-up and fourth behind when winning the Hackwood on his next start.
Both those impressive performances came off the back of a break, and it's possible he's just best when caught fresh, in which case, he's a must bet this afternoon back on quick ground following 207 days off the track.
2pt Win – Elite Status
Odds – 9/4
19lb separate the top-weight and bottom-weight, in the finale at York (5.25). The likes of Don Simon and Papagei make plenty of appeal, but it could be that Maskela, who sits right at the foot of the weights, is the one to side with at a double-figure price.
Fourth in the Epsom Derby behind Desert Crown a few years ago, Maskela has tumbled in the weights in recent seasons due to some poor results.
Whilst he's clearly not the same horse he was in his days as a three-year-old, he did show he was certainly ready to return to the winners' enclosure when runner-up at Hamilton just ten days ago.
There's no doubt this requires more back up in grade, but off a featherweight of 8st6lb, he looks worth chancing for a stable that are definitely no stranger to having winners at this venue.
0.5pt Each-way – Maskela
Odds – 10/1
We head to Yarmouth for our fourth and final wager. The Simon and Ed Crisford-trained How Lovely looked to have a touch of star quality about her when making a winning debut at Southwell last season and she's a confident selection to remain unbeaten.
Having raced professionally in second in behind the pace, she picked up well before sticking on nicely through to line to beat two fair performers, of which the runner-up has won both outings since to warrant a rating of 83, while the third-place horse already brought winning form to the table from Salisbury.
A 7lb penalty will demand more here, but there's every chance she's a stakes filly in the making and if so, she should be landing this under Harry Davies.
1pt Win – How Lovely
Odds – 5/4
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