York Stakes today

the Group Two York Stakes over 10 furlongs at 16.10 CET is the main race today and the feature of a strong card at York (where else?) This looks a very open affair with qurestion marks over most of the runners, some of whom have been running without success in the top Group One races, while others are moving up in grade after showing good form in listed races, such as Asfare (Luca Cumani/ Kieren Fallon) and Jet Away (Sir Henry Cecil/ Tom Queally). We like the latter whose poor run behind Brown Panther on very soft ground can be excused and he should be much better suited by the faster going here. Others who should like this ground are Premio Loco (Chris Wall/ George Baker), who had no chance against Frankel at Royal Ascot, where Side Glance (Andrew Balding/ Jimmy Fortune) was third, and Sri Putra (Roger Varian/ Neil Callan), whose stable is coming into form and who is equipped with a pacemaker here. Two more who ran at the Royal meeting are Planteur (Marco Botti/ Adam Kirby) and Wigmore Hall (Michael Bell/ Graham Lee), both unplaced behind So You Think in the Prince of Wales´s; at their best they are both proper Group One horses, who should not be underestimated and we should certainly not forget Planteur´s excellent 3yo form in France. All things considered however, we shall go for Premio Loco, a horse we have always liked since his smart performances in Baden-Baden and Cologne in 2009. Those races were at a mile and he has never in fact won on turf over today´s distance, but his victory in the Winter Derby shows that he gets it. We like his very shrewd trainer and also his jockey, the most underrated in our opinion in the U.K. He needs fast going and a fast pace and it looks as if he will get both today and everything seems to be in his favour.

Betting forecast:
1. Race: Hippy Hippy Shake - Anjaz - Popular
2. Race: Dimension - Haamaat - Quick Wit
3. Race: Afsare - Planteur - Jet Away
4. Race: Head Space - Colonel Mak - Klynch
5. Race: Ajmany - Burning Blaze - Bachotheque
6. Race: Bilidn - Rosairlie - Dazinski
7. Race: Dutch Masterpiece - Blue Lotus - Our Diane