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Tom Segal bids to follow up 5-1 Nunthorpe winner with four tips on Ebor day

Caius Chorister
2.25 York
1pt win

Sheer Rocks
2.25 York
1pt win

Enemy
3.35 York
1pt win

Summerghand
4.10 York
1pt win

Ian Williams has a tremendous record in staying handicaps and is the first trainer I look to when trying to unearth the winner of a race of that type. He runs two in the Sky Bet Ebor (3.35) at York and, as well as Alfred Boucher should go after his easy win here on Wednesday, I think the classy Enemy has all the attributes required to win the great race.

Enemy has looked a totally different horse since stepping up to staying trips and couldn’t have been more impressive when winning over this trip at Musselburgh in April.

Since then he’s gone up to 2m against the best stayers around in Group races and has had excuses on every run. First up he was desperately unlucky not to win the Sagaro when hampered throughout the final furlong, then he got caught out in a tactical Henry II won by Quickthorn and last time he was hampered behind Kyprios in the Goodwood Cup.

This race is clearly much easier. I’m not totally convinced he stays 2m, so the drop back to 1m6f will be a big help and, with only 10lb between the top and bottom weights, he doesn’t have too much weight to give away.

It’s not hard to see him travelling sweetly in behind what should be a decent pace and scything through the field late on.

Having suggested backing Okita Soushi ante-post, I certainly haven’t given up on him and he should be perfectly suited by the demands of the Ebor. He did much the best of those held up at this trip at Royal Ascot and Joseph O’Brien has aimed him at this race since.

The Sky Bet Melrose Handicap (2.25) is typically competitive and the most likely winner is Soulcombe, who ran well from miles off the pace in a competitive race won by Great Voltigeur runner-up Secret State at Goodwood on his latest start. Everything points to him improving for the step up to 1m6f but he’s a bit of a loafer in that he tends to miss the break and get behind, so I just wonder whether he’ll be totally at home at this track.

Consequently, I’m going to take him on with a couple who ran in a different race at Goodwood, starting with prolific winner Caius Chorister for David Menuisier.

Caius Chorister’s first win this season came off a mark of 53 and she’s 39lb higher now but I don’t think we have got anywhere near the bottom of her yet and, on pedigree, the step up to 1m6f should improve her.

When these fillies get on a roll there can be no stopping them and Menuisier had this race in mind even before Goodwood.

The other one I like is Sheer Rocks from the in-form yard of Eve Johnson Houghton. Having been caught out by the way the race was run behind Caius Chorister, Sheer Rocks stayed on strongly over 1m4f at the Shergar Cup when again caught out tactically and he gives every indication he will improve for the step up to 1m6f.

The final horse to consider backing is old boy Summerghand for David O’Meara in the Sky Bet Constantine Handicap (4.10). This is another one of those impossible sprints that we all appear to have seen 500 times before but Summerghand has run really well in three of the season's biggest handicaps and is 4lb lower than when finishing fifth in the Wokingham.

Since then he has run well from terrible draws at Goodwood and Ripon and another O’Meara-trained eight-year-old, Escobar, nearly won the mile handicap here on Thursday.

Already advised

Okita Soushi
3.35 York
1pt win at 16-1


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