The historic Ebor Handicap takes place over a mile and six furlongs on day four of the Yorkshire Ebor Festival 2019 and, courtesy to a 100 per cent prize money increase in 2019, is now the richest Flat handicap run in Europe.

The race is run over a distance of one mile and six furlongs and has been run at York since 1843. The word “Ebor” is actually an abbreviation of the Roman word, Eboracum, which was the Roman name for York.

A number of horses engaged in The Ebor in recent seasons have then headed out to Melbourne for the Spring Carnival. Let’s take a look at the trends and statistics for The Ebor based on the last ten years.

 

Age:

Five-year-olds have won five of the last ten runnings. That signals a positive for backers of: King’s Advice, Weekender, Raheen House, Desert Skyline and The Grand Visir.

Only one horse aged seven or older has won this race in the last thirty years (Litigant 2015). That signals a negative for: Max Dynamite and Barsanti.

Weights:

Antepost favourite King's Advice (9st 7lb) has been a handicap sensation this season, winning eight of his nine starts in 2019 including valuable handicaps at Newmarket's July Festival and Glorious Goodwood.

Mark Johnston is looking for his second victory in the Ebor having scored with Quick Ransom in 1992.

The Middleham handler's other runners include Baghdad (9st 4lb), successful in the Duke Of Edinburgh Handicap at Royal Ascot , and the runaway Chester Cup winner Making Miracles (9st 1lb).

The Roger Charlton-trained Withhold (9st 8lb) is popular in the betting after a front-running victory in the Marsh Cup Handicap at Newbury.

Having already landed the 2017 Cesarewitch Handicap at Newmarket and the 2018 Northumberland Plate at Newcastle, a win in the 2019 Ebor would cap an amazing handicap treble.

Last year’s runner-up Weekender (9st 6lb) will be hoping to go one better while the fourth placed horse in 2018 Mustajeer (9st 3lb), makes the return trip from across the Irish Sea.

Mustajeer has been in cracking form this year, with the pick of his run being his neck defeat by Master Of Reality in the Vintage Crop Stakes at Navan in April. In his last outing, the six-year-old was a staying-on fifth in the Curragh Cup at the end of June.

Four of the last 10 renewals of the Ebor have been won by Irish-trained horses and the Emerald Isle is once again well represented.

Willie Mullins, who was successful ten years ago with Sesenta, is likely to be double-handed with the dual-purpose horse Max Dynamite (9st 5lb) and the exciting mare True Self (9st 5lb). He is certainly a horse racing trainer to follow in this.

John Gosden saddled the first two home in 2018 and the champion trainer could well achieve that feat again this year. His Weekender is joined by the Duke Of Edinburgh runner-up, Ben Vrackie (9st 3lb).

Ed Dunlop’s Red Verdon (9st 7lb) scored over course and distance in the John Smith's Silver Cup, accounting for Gold Mount and another fancied Ebor runner Raheen House (9st 6lb) in tight finish.

Weekender and Kelly's Dino (9st 4lb) came home in fourth and fifth in the same contest.

Kelly's Dino landed the Old Newton Cup at Haydock Park earlier this season and has since won at Newmarket over 1m 4f.

Other horses of note include the Melbourne Cup third Prince of Arran (9st 5lb) will probably be using this race as another prep for a return visit down under while Wells Farhh Go (9st 7lb) is a Newmarket Listed winner for local trainer, Tim Easterby.

Ratings:

The last ten winners have been rated between 88 and 106 with seven of them between 90 and 103.

Price:

Winners of the last ten runnings have been priced between 5/1 and 33/1 with four of them going off at 20/1 or bigger in the horse racing betting.

Draw:

Eight winners have been drawn between 14 and 22, the two exceptions being stall 10 and 12.

The following horses have a supposedly “favourable” draw:  Red Verdon, Desert Skyline, Prince Of Arran, Proschema, Baghdad, King’s Advice, Cypress Creek, Raymond Tusk, Ben Vrackie, Weekender and Kelly’s Dino.

Irish Trainers:

With the race being run over 1m6f some of the National Hunt yards tend to target it, especially those from Ireland.

Since 2009, trainers such as Willie Mullins, Gordon Elliott, Johnny Murtagh and Tony Martin have all tasted success so they are well worth a second look in the market.

 

Ebor Handicap: Contenders

Raheen House (9st 8lb) holds the claim to fame of being one of only two horses to finish in front of Enable in her star studded career and has been laid out for this race for some time.

Two years ago Raheen House was winning the Group Three Bahrain Trophy at Newmarket for Brian Meehan and is certainly, at this juncture, a much better horse than a handicapper.

Desert Skyline (9st 3lb) is another of interest at a larger price. He is probably not up to Group company these days, but he was eye-catching when third behind King’s Advice at the July meeting when probably given a bit too much to do in the closing stages.

It was only a season since back that he was seen here finishing just a couple of lengths behind Stradivarius in the Yorkshire Cup, so he is definitely one to pencil in.

Another horse dropping down in class for the Ebor is Richard Hannon’s Raymond Tusk (9st 6lb) who is making his handicap debut.

Raymond Tusk started this season with a good second behind Ascot and Goodwood Cup runner-up Dee Ex Bee, before finishing an excellent third behind Crystal Ocean in the Al Rayyan Stakes.

One of the leading Irish contenders is the Willie Mullins-trained True Self (9st 5lb) who was disappointing in the Stanerra Stakes, but who had been progressive before that, winning a pair of Listed contests and finishing runner up in the Pinnacle Stakes.

She won’t however want the ground too quick on Saturday.

 

Ebor Handicap: Conclusion

888sport suggests: Desert Skyline and Raheen House (e/w).

The US Open is an annual tennis tournament that takes place over a two-week period in late August and early September.

Officially known as the United States Open Tennis Championship, it is the fourth and final Grand Slam event of the calendar year – following the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon Championships.

 

US Open: Format

As per usual at Grand Slam events, there are five events: men’s singles and doubles, women’s singles and doubles, and mixed doubles. That will be no different in 2019 and 888sport will have the US Open tournament news and odds ahead of the competition.

The competition dates all the way back to 1881, making it one of the oldest tennis events on the planet. By 1892, the tournament had options for women players to compete – although each category was contested at a different venue.

That all changed in 1968, with all five championships taking place at West Side Tennis Club in Queens. From that moment on, the tournament became known as the US Open and it has been an ever-present on the sporting calendar ever since.

Before 1978, the US Open had been played predominantly on grass but it was a clay court event for three tournaments from 1975 to 1977. Today, the Grand Slam event is played on DecoTurf, which is a faster hard-court surface.

 

US Open: Venue

Since 1978, the US Open has been played on hard courts at the National Tennis Center, now renamed the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, in New York City.

The main court is the 22,000 Arthur Ashe Stadium but there are two other major courts in the vicinity. With space for 10,000 spectators, the Louis Armstrong Stadium regularly hosts major tournament games while the 6,000 seat Grandstand Stadium is also an iconic venue.

With sufficient lighting around all venues, players can play well into the night and courts are painted blue to help spectators and officials with tracking of the ball. With so much at stake, US Open organisers are hot on any potential issues regarding the state of play.

The Arthur Ashe Stadium is the largest tennis-specific venue on the planet and young tennis players will be dreaming of lifting the US Open trophy. At the time of writing, Novak Djokovic is the 6/5 market leader for the men’s singles tournament for 2019.

 

US Open: Random Facts

The longest ever match in US Open history took place in 1992. With a Grand Slam final spot up for grabs, Michael Chang and Stefan Edberg did battle for five hours and 26 minutes – with the Swedish player advancing to the US Open showpiece.

Tennis legend Arthur Ashe won the US Open in 1968 but was unable to accept the prize money due to his status as an amateur player. Since then, Grand Slam winnings have gone up to unprecedented levels and the 2019 US Open is the most lucrative event of all.

A rather interesting fact is that Jimmy Connors is the only male player to have won Open titles on all three surfaces. With the US Open now played exclusively on the hard court, that particular record will never be matched.

 

US Open: Winners

Connors, Roger Federer and Pete Sampras are tied for most US Open wins in the Grand Slam era with five triumphs each. John McEnroe won the tournament four times in the space of six years from 1979 to 1984 and he is next best with four US Open titles.

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal have the chance to move level with McEnroe on four titles in 2019. The former was victorious in 2018 and a second US Open crown in as many years will see him move one step closer to Federer’s tally of Grand Slam triumphs.

Meanwhile, Chris Evert and Serena Williams have both won six US Opens apiece since the start of the Open Era. Widely regarded as the greatest female player of all-time, Williams can cement her status with a seventh victory this year.

 

888sport.com never hits the net when it comes to tennis bets

 

*Credit for the main photo belongs to Adam Hunger / AP Photo*

We’re just two weeks into the 2019/20 Premier League season but the top flight table has already started to take shape. With five of the ‘Big 6’ occupying the European places, the fight for supremacy is well and truly on.

Our blogger looks at four of this weekend’s biggest Premier League matches – with an early season clash between Liverpool and Arsenal taking centre stage on Saturday night. Without further ado, here are his thoughts on this weekend’s action…

 

Aston Villa vs Everton

The Villa Park faithful will be pumped for Friday night under the floodlights. After losing to Bournemouth in their opening home fixture, Aston Villa will be determined to put on a much-improved display when they take on Everton this weekend.

Everton have picked up four points from their opening two league games and the Toffees will be quietly confident of a positive result here. The Merseyside club have won four of the last five meetings and 6/5 is a reasonable price given their dominance in this fixture.

Both teams to score looks like the way to go in most of Aston Villa’s matches this season. At 16/25, the selection is well priced and we could see plenty of goals at Villa Park on Friday night. This has all the makings of an exciting and entertaining affair…

TIP: Both teams to score (16/25)

 

Norwich City vs Chelsea

Teemu Pukki was at his brilliant best for Norwich last weekend as they ran out 3-1 winners at home to Newcastle. The Finland striker finished as the Championship’s top goal scorer last season and already has four goals in two Premier League appearances this term.

Meanwhile, Chelsea’s slow start to 2019/20 continued as the Blues were held to a 1-1 draw against Leicester City. The Stamford Bridge faithful were disappointed with the performance and Leicester could quite easily have claimed three points with a bit more luck.

The 21/20 available for Norwich to win or draw is tempting here. The Canaries will need to make the most of their home games to stand any chance of survival and Daniel Farke’s men can exploit Chelsea’s weaknesses at Carrow Road.

TIP: Norwich to win or draw (21/20)

 

Liverpool vs Arsenal

Liverpool were not at their best against Southampton last Saturday but the Reds got the job done – much to the delight of Jurgen Klopp. Adrian’s error gave Saints hope but Liverpool defended resolutely in the closing stages to see the game out.

Arsenal also showed plenty of determination to get past a spirited Burnley at the Emirates Stadium. The Gunners went into the break level but Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s goal in the second half was enough to move Arsenal to joint-top of the Premier League table.

The visitors have struggled in this fixture in recent years and they may find themselves up against it once again. Liverpool are primed to challenge Manchester City for the Premier League title again this campaign and 22/25 for the Reds to lead at half-time is a solid bet.

TIP: Liverpool to win the first half (22/25)

 

Tottenham Hotspur vs Newcastle United

Not for the first time, Tottenham were saved by VAR against Manchester City last weekend. On the balance of play, Spurs were fortunate to take a point from that fixture but the north London weren’t complaining – that draw should give Tottenham confidence.

At the other end of the spectrum, Newcastle are struggling. After losing to Arsenal on the opening weekend, the Magpies were second best in all departments against Norwich. Steve Bruce is already under pressure and fans could turn with another heavy defeat here.

Tottenham are a different beast on home soil and they could run riot on Sunday afternoon. Newcastle will be wary of a good hiding and an early goal could see the floodgates open – winning to nil may be the priority though and 22/25 is worth sticking in an accumulator.

TIP: Tottenham to win to nil (22/25)

 

Up For 8: My Picks

Brighton vs Southampton: Draw

Watford vs West Ham: Draw

Sheffield United vs Leicester: Draw

Stoke vs Leeds: Leeds win

Fulham vs Nottingham Forest: Fulham win

Blackburn vs Cardiff: Blackburn win

Liverpool vs Arsenal: Liverpool win

Wolves vs Burnley: Wolves win

 

*Credit for the main photo belongs to Rui Vieira / AP Photo*

The Ashes, despite Australia holding a 1-0 lead, is beautifully poised ahead of the Third Test. Headingley is the theatre for the third instalment of this thrilling series, and it is one of two Ashes 2019 venues that didn’t host a Test in the 2015 series.

England couldn’t force a victory on the fifth and final day of a rain-interrupted Lord’s Test, but the hosts managed to spin the series after disappointment at Fortress Edgbaston.

Australia were put under pressure in the final session. England not only had Jofra Archer firing on all cylinders, they also saw some batsmen find form and got some tidy overs from Somerset spinner Jack Leach – a marked improvement from Moeen Ali in Birmingham.

The stage is set for another fascinating Test at Headingley. The door is ajar for an England comeback with Steve Smith out. Here are five things to look out for…

 

Jofra Archer

There was nowhere else to start, was there?

Archer changed the whole tone of this Ashes series at Lord’s just a few weeks after his Super Over heroics in the World Cup final on the same ground.

Hitting Smith caught the most attention, such was the intensity of their duel, but Archer impressed not just with his raw pace and unreadable bouncer, but his control and movement off the surface.

Marnus Labuschagne was welcomed to the Ashes series by another Archer bumper, getting rattled on the grille.

David Warner and Usman Khawaja nicked off at the start of the second innings. Tim Paine was given a serious going over. Archer troubled every Australian he faced.

The pressure on Archer to repeat his Lord’s heroics at Headingley is immense – that’s unlikely to be much of an issue, however. With back-to-back Tests and long spells at Lord’s, though, this will be a physical challenge for Archer.

How Joe Root uses the Sussex quick will be crucial to the outcome of the third Test...

 

Warner's Woes

David Warner’s scores in the 2019 Ashes: 2, 8, 3, 5. That isn’t good by anyone’s standards. By the level Warner has played at (he averages nearly 47 in Tests), that is a serious slump.

As he prepares for Headingley, there’s yet more pressure on Australia’s second-best batsman in Smith’s absence.

Warner is not only Australia’s most senior player with Smith out the side, he was meant to be Smith’s second-in-command in a batting line-up with plenty of question marks. Australia need something from Warner at Leeds.

Stuart Broad made Warner his bunny in the first three innings, troubling him on both sides of the bat. Then, having dodged Broad, Warner fell to Archer in the second knock at Lord’s.

Expect to see the feisty left-hander come out aggressively in the first innings. England will fancy their chances if they can extend this slump.

 

Taking On Lyon

After taking nine wickets at Edgbaston, and keeping the run rate down, Lyon struggled at Lord’s. He still took three first innings wickets, and was unlucky with some sloppy catching, but England’s approach clearly changed.

Rory Burns was more proactive, cutting Lyon whenever he dropped short and/or wide.

Jonny Bairstow played shots and Ben Stokes – after surviving some outside edges – took the game to him as England accelerated on Sunday. England need to maintain that attacking approach in Leeds.

Ticking the score over against Lyon not only keeps the catchers away from the bat, it also challenges Tim Paine’s captaincy. It forces the quicks to come back for more spells and puts Lyon under pressure, which he didn’t face in the First Test.

 

England's Middle Order

Ben Stokes was bumped up to five in England’s second innings and delivered a Man of the Match hundred. Stokes set up one of the best Lord’s Ashes Test matches, aided by fellow World Cup final hero Jos Buttler.

Putting Stokes above Buttler was a popular decision, and England will surely stick with it after Stokes’ magnificent knock.

Then there’s Jonny Bairstow. Despite playing fluently in the World Cup, Bairstow’s red-ball form has been poor over the last few Test series. He looked to play himself into a bit of nick in the first innings at Lord’s, and helped Stokes set up a declaration on the fifth day.

There’s a strong argument that Bairstow should slot above Buttler, too, allowing Buttler to play freely from seven. Unfortunately that is unlikely while Bairstow has the gloves.

Bairstow is 17/20 in 888sport’s cricket betting to score over 30.5 runs in the first innings at Headingley.

While the top order has been poor for years, England’s engine room has been their real strength. If Stokes, Buttler and Bairstow can deliver in Leeds, they are well-placed for to level the series.

 

Root's Time

We are yet to see the best of Joe Root in this Ashes series.

His 57 and 28 at Edgbaston were not his most elegant innings, and while he played some of this glorious cover drives in the first knock at Lord’s, a combined 14 runs over the two innings goes down as one of his worst Test matches in an England shirt.

With Smith unavailable, Root is the best batsman in this Test. On his home ground too, this is as good an opportunity as Root will get to take control of this series.

The three versus four debate continues to rumble on – it seems silly he’s so often getting exposed to the brand new ball – but with him set to bat three for the rest of this series at least, that’s no more than a distraction.

Barring a shock opening partnership, or Joe Denly finding his feet at Test match level, England need a captain’s knock from their skipper and best player.

England’s attacking middle order is at its most dangerous when they can attack – a Root century would be the perfect way to set the platform for Stokes, Buttler and Bairstow.

 

*Credit for the main photo belongs to Alastair Grant / AP Photo*