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Ebor Festival 2025 - Day 4 Preview

Jon Vine

Editor

Last updated: Sat 23 Aug 2025 03:49

Jon Vine 23 Aug 2025

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Ebor Festival concludes with thrilling races, including Strensall Stakes, City Of York Stakes and Ebor Handicap
Key horses: Bowmark in Strensall Stakes and Rosallion in City of York Stakes
Outside bets: Majestic Warrior in Ebor Handicap and Completely Random in Constantine Handicap

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York Racecourse. (Getty)

The Ebor Festival draws to a dramatic conclusion on Saturday afternoon.

Ebor Festival - Day 4 Preview
Race 1 - Strensall Stakes Tips
Race 2 - Melrose Handicap Tips
Race 3 - City Of York Stakes Tips
Race 4 - Ebor Handicap Tips
Race 5 - Constantine Handicap Tips

22 top stayers will contest one of the most lucrative handicaps in Europe, with the Ebor headlining the card, while Group 1 City Of York Stakes, as well as a trio of other strong races support a strong meeting.

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

Ebor Festival - Day 4 Preview

Race 1 - Strensall Stakes Tips

Two of the last three renewals of the Strensall Stakes have gone the way of three-year-olds.

Bullet Point is massively respected after his victory in the Clipper Handicap on Thursday, but I remain a big fan of 6. BOWMARK.

John and Thady Gosden's colt went close on his second outing in the Burradon Stakes at Newcastle, before he claimed an easy novice win under a penalty here at York.

Bowmark was then thrown in at the deep end on his pattern-race debut in the Prix du Jockey Club and Gosden's youngster didn't handle the occasion well at all, pulling his way to the front early on before fading rapidly in the closing stages.

William Buick's mount will hopefully have learned plenty from that ambitious trip to Chantilly and returning to a track he knows well will help.

Bowmark remains a hugely-progressive three-year-old and this nine-furlong trip should be ideal.

Race 2 - Melrose Handicap Tips

Victory in the Melrose guarantees the winner a spot in next year's Ebor Handicap and I'm happy to roll the dice with 10. TALISMANS TIME.

Ed Bethell's three-year-old ran OK in two maidens in the autumn, but has improved plenty for stepping up to middle distances this term.

Talismans Time upset long odds-on favourite Mafting to open his account at Hamilton in May and was last seen justifying a short price on his handicap debut at the same track.

Callum Rodriguez's mount sweated up before that routine win, which could be a worry as he tastes the Festival atmosphere for the first time.

Yet, Talismans Time has taken a good step forward with each of his starts this year and Ed Bethell's bidding stayer remains open to plenty of improvement.

Race 3 - City Of York Stakes Tips

I'm hoping to see the first running of this race as a Group 1 go the way of the classiest horse in the contest.

7. ROSALLION has gone close on his two most recent starts at the highest level and Sean Levey's mount should relish this slight drop back in trip.

A two-time Group 1 winner at three, Rosallion placed third on his reappearance in the Lockinge, where Richard Hannon's star looked to have the Queen Anne Stakes sewn up, until course-specialist Docklands flew home late to snatch a shock victory.

Rosallion then tried to reel in Qirat in the Sussex Stakes - the only horse to make significant in-roads from the rear - but Levey had given the pacemaker a neck too much rope.

Hannon's stable star produced two outstanding performances over seven furlongs as a juvenile and has more than enough speed to cope with this drop in trip.

Rosallion has recovered from the minor setback that ruled him out of the Prix Jacques le Marois last Sunday and he can establish himself as the class act in this contest.

Race 4 - Ebor Handicap Tips

As none of the leading contenders in this year's Ebor really float my boat, I'm happy to roll the dice with the most lightly-raced runner in the field.

19. MAJESTIC WARRIOR won two of his three starts in novice company in early 2023, but spent the next two years off the track after meeting with a setback.

James Tate's star made his only appearance of the season in a handicap at Thirsk in April.

Majestic Warrior was backed into 2/1 favouritism and went on to secure an emphatic victory off a mark of 89, beating a subsequent two-time winner in Knightswood by an easy four lengths.

Majestic Warrior has clearly had problems, but it seems to have been the plan to keep him off the track until the Ebor.

Tate's five-year-old is fantastically well-bred - he's a half-brother to 2020 Ebor winner Fujaira Prince, and a multiple Grade One-winning hurdler in Nichols Canyon.

An entry in the Irish St Leger shows that connections hold this gelding in high regard and if he is a stakes-quality stayer, then Majestic Warrior is chucked in off a mark of 98.

2025 Ebor Handicap Tip 2 - Fleetfoot

The least fancied of the ten Irish raiders in Saturday's Ebor is 21. FLEETFOOT.

Jim Bolger's raider won just two of his first 13 career starts, but travels to York in excellent form, having struck twice in the last seven weeks.

Fleetfoot returned to the flat with a hard-fought handicap win at the Curragh in June before a narrow defeat when getting struck in traffic at the Galway Festival.

On his most recent outing at Gowran Park, Bolger's four-year-old produced a career-best performance to win the McEnery Cup, powering clear of some talented rivals to claim a convincing two-length success.

On Saturday, this Teofilo gelding will be partnered by Ross Coakley - who rode 150 winners over three seasons in Britain before moving back to Ireland at the start of the year.

There are significant questions to answer regarding his stamina, but Bolger's raider is effectively three pounds well-in at the weights and a wide drawn in stall 15 could prove to be advantageous.

Of the outsiders, he's the one who interests me most.

Race 5 - Constantine Handicap Tips

ITV's coverage of the Ebor Festival concludes with a wide-open sprint handicap.

My usual MO with such races is to chance my arm with an outside and a wide draw could be ideal for the fast-finishing 6. COMPLETELY RANDOM.

Harry Charlton's star beat Strike Red and plenty of other decent sprinters in the King Richard III Cup at Leicester in April.

Completely Random then flew home from the rear to finish fifth in the Jockey Club Handicap at Newbury in May before repeating that showing in the Wokingham at Royal Ascot.

Trevor Whelan's mount did well to finish eighth in the Stewards Cup, having been handed a horror draw in stall one.

Plenty of pace has been drawn on Completely Random's side of the track on Saturday and Charlton's four-year-old still has plenty of wiggle room left in his mark.

Verdict

Ebor Festival 2025 - Day 4 Preview

Our best bets for day four of the 2025 Ebor Festival are:

Rosallion

To Win

$2.40 - 5 Units

Betting Exchange

Referral Code BETSAU

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Bet at betfair

Bowmark

To Win

$5.00 - 5 Units

Same Race Multi & Instant Deposit

Referral Code: BETS

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Bet at Bet Right

Talisman's Time

Each Way

$11.00 - 5 Units

Newest Australian Bookie

Referral Code: MAXBET

The OnlyBets referral code is MAXBET. 18+. T&Cs apply.

Bet at OnlyBets

Completely Random

Each Way

$13.00 - 5 Units

Take it to the Neds Level