Ebor Festival 2025 - Day 1 Preview

Jon Vine

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Last updated: Wed 20 Aug 2025 16:30

Jon Vine 20 Aug 2025

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The 2025 Ebor Festival opens with competitive races at York
Key races: Juddmonte International, Acomb Stakes, Great Voltigeur Stakes
Top selections: Italy, Fireblade, Bergerac and Ombudsman

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York Racecourse. (Getty)

The ever-popular Ebor Festival gets underway on Wednesday and viewers have got a quality card to enjoy at York.

Ebor Festival 2025 - Day 1 Preview
Race 1 - HKJC World Pool Handicap Tips
Race 2 - Acomb Stakes Tips
Race 3 - Great Voltigeur Stakes Tips
Race 4 - Juddmonte International Stakes Tips
Race 5 - Stayers Handicap Tips

The Juddmonte International Stakes headlines the opening day, with the Acomb Stakes and Great Voltigeur Stakes leading up to our Group 1 feature.

My preview for day one of the 2025 Ebor Festival is included below.

Ebor Festival 2025 - Day 1 Preview

Race 1 - HKJC World Pool Handicap Tips

Large-field sprint handicaps - especially at York - would be among the least-profitable races that I bet on.

Nevertheless, we're going to kick the Ebor Festival off with an each-way punt on 6. BERGERAC.

Kevin Ryan's sprinter can usually be relied upon to produce his best at York, with Bergerac having won this race back in 2022 and he ran on well to finish sixth from a tricky wide draw in last year's renewal.

Tom Eaves' mount has placed fifth and second on his two visits to York this term before claiming his first victory of the season at Hamilton in June.

Since then, Bergerac has suffered one-length defeats in the Gosforth Park Handicap at Newcastle and the Scottish Stewards' Cup at Hamilton.

Ryan's seven-year-old is still capable of winning off a mark of 93 and, looking at whether the pace has been drawn, stall nine should be ideal.

Race 2 - Acomb Stakes Tips

4. ITALY was beaten by a Charlie Appleby runner in the Superlative Stakes at Newmarket, but I fancy he'll have the measure of Godolphin's favourite, Distant Storm on Wednesday.

Aidan O'Brien's youngster - a strapping colt by Wootton Bassett - went off as the 4/6 favourite at Newmarket following an impressive debut win at Leopardstown.

Italy took a while to get going and was pushed wide across the track by Venetian Lace, but kept on well to finish second behind Saba Desert, who enjoyed a much smoother trip down the stands' side of the straight.

The form of Distant Storm's debut win has worked out fantastically well, but Aidan O'Brien is convinced that Italy has improved for that trip to Newmarket and no jockey is better at riding York than Ryan Moore.

Race 3 - Great Voltigeur Stakes Tips

Talking of Aidan O'Brien, the master of Ballydoyle will saddle four of the seven runners in this year's Great Voltigeur Stakes.

Dual Derby winner, Lambourn is the overwhelming favourite, but I don't fancy either backing the favourite or siding against him, so I'll leave this one alone.

Race 4 - Juddmonte International Stakes Tips

The obvious answer is 3. OMBUDSMAN, who produced the stand-out performance of the season in the Prince Of Wales's Stakes.

John and Thady Gosden's mount settled nicely behind a fast pace, had to weave around to find a clear path to the post, but fairly flew home to win his first Group 1 by a widening two-length margin.

The early pace was a little more sedate in the Coral Eclipse and William Buick's mount struggled to settle.

Ombudsman pulled himself towards the leaders coming down the back straight and was three wide throughout the turn, but he still managed to pick up to wrestle an advantage at the two pole, however, Delacroix caught fire in the closing stages and rattled home to snatch an unlikely victory.

In a bid to ensure an honest gallop throughout, Godolphin has added Birr Castle to Wednesday's field and Rab Havlin will be tasked with setting some fairly fast fractions, which should give Ombudsman the ideal set-up.

The gap between himself and Delacroix at the weights has closed by three pounds, while conditions seem perfect for this lightly-raced four-year-old.

Race 5 - Stayers Handicap Tips

Fresh off his success at the Shergar Cup, 9. FIREBLADE has a good chance of claiming back-to-back wins.

Dylan Cunha's four-year-old ran Suraj Narredu ragged, pulling his way to the front going into the bend, but Fireblade kept on gamely to secure a convincing victory.

James Doyle had ridden Cunha's four-year-old on his two-mile debut at Ascot the previous month, where Fireblade ran a lovely race to finish third.

A five-pound rise doesn't seem overly harsh for that Shergar Cup victory and Fireblade can progress further on his third start over this distance.