Newbury will wait to see if Geoffrey Freer suffers due to York's huge cash boost

Newbury has congratulated York for securing a sponsorship deal that takes the Sky Bet Ebor to £1 million from 2019, but noted it will wait to see what impact the now massively valuable handicap could have on its own Geoffrey Freer Stakes.

The explosion of the Ebor's prize fund from £285,000 to £1m could potentially persuade some owners and trainers to reroute horses from Pattern races to the Ebor, an admission that led to York changing the contest's entry rules to prevent three-year-old participation.

The Knavesmire's own Weatherbys Hamilton Lonsdale Cup could itself conceivably lose runners to the following day's Ebor, while seven days before the seven-figure handicap Newbury stages the Geoffrey Freer, a Group 3 over 1m5f that had a relatively modest £60,000 in prize-money last year.

Newbury boss Julian Thick has congratulated YorkCredit: Edward Whitaker

Newbury chief executive Julian Thick said: "Any investment into the sport is of course welcome. We'll have to wait and see what sort of impact this may have on the Geoffrey Freer run the week before. Well done York!"

Triple Ebor winner Luca Cumani does not believe the Ebor's swelled pot will damage Pattern events to any significant degree.

Cumani said: "There will be some concern for Group races but, at the same time, a number of those horses who run in the Lonsdale Cup would surely be handicapped out of the Ebor by having to give so much weight away that they probably wouldn't stand a chance.

"I couldn't really see horses like Big Orange or Order Of St George running in the Ebor carrying 10st. They would still be running in the cup races."

Luca Cumani: does not believe Group races will sufferCredit: Edward Whitaker

Cumani added: "This extra money, coupled with the Weatherbys Hamilton £1 million bonus linked to the top staying races, is certainly a move in the right direction towards keeping good staying prospects in training here.

"The more emphasis we put on staying races, the more likely it is that these horses will be kept here and priced out of the Australian market."

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