Salouen has big shot of landing £1m Ebor pot on handicap bow says bullish Kirk

Sylvester Kirk is excited as he steps his stable star Salouen up in trip in the £1 million Sky Bet Ebor at York on Saturday, the five-year-old's first time in handicap company.

Salouen has been a permanent fixture at Pattern level since the final two starts of his juvenile campaign, and frequently outperforms his odds, most notably when beaten just a head by Cracksman in last year's Coronation Cup at Epsom when a 33-1 shot.

For all that the 1m6f Ebor is a handicap, the strength and depth of the field chasing the £1m prize means it is arguably a handicap in name only.

Salouen, who has a handicap mark of 115 and finished fourth to Enable in the King George last time, is one of the classiest contenders in the race, and Kirk thinks the son of Canford Cliffs – a best-priced 25-1 for the Ebor – has what it takes to get in the mix on the Knavesmire.

Speaking on Sunday the trainer said: "He's been crying out for further. I'm really looking forward to stepping him up in trip. Jim Crowley got off him at Ascot and said he definitely needs to step up.

"I don't think there will be a massive spread of weights as there's lots of nice horses in there, but if he runs up to form he should be there or thereabouts."

Running to form is something Salouen is very good at. Although his only win since his juvenile season came in a Listed race at Ascot in May, he has amassed more than £500,000 in prize-money through a string of creditable efforts.

Kirk added: "He's been consistent, genuine and tries his heart out. He's a pleasure to have and we're looking forward to it. We've given him plenty of time between races and he's stayed sound and happy because of that, I think."

Looking further ahead, a return to Group 1 company could be on the cards for Salouen, as Kirk said: "The Irish St Leger has been the plan for a long while and we'll see what he does when he gets the trip [in the Ebor]."

Confirmations for the Ebor will be revealed on Monday, though one horse who will not be lining up is Gold Mount.

Ian Williams said the six-year-old, who joined the yard from Hong Kong and won over the Ebor course and distance on his first start for the stable, would not run.

He said: "It's a great shame we are going to miss the Sky Bet Ebor, but he was sent to me from Richard Gibson in Hong Kong with a view to getting him ready for the Melbourne Cup, and that's the challenge now.

"He's been given a nice weight, and he'll get out to Australia early, so he may run in the Caulfield Cup there first."

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