Nick Luck’s blog: Sacred pick in the City of York  

Our man Nick Luck has ran his eye over the card on the fourth and final day at the York Ebor Festival to pick out his fancies.  

MIGHTY ULYSSES should prove very hard to beat at 11/8 in Saturday’s opener from York’s Ebor Festival (1.50pm). He has been edging his way there slowly but surely this season, with excellent efforts at Royal Ascot and at Newmarket his last two starts. He did particularly well under a cute ride in a tactical affair last time and can move forward again granted a stronger gallop.

CAIUS CHORISTER is taken to continue her extraordinary wining spree at 8/1 in the Melrose (2.25pm). Although it goes against the grain to think that a horse can win six handicaps on the spin, particularly inching up again in grade, her victory at Goodwood last time was achieved with a fair degree of comfort and has been boosted by beaten rivals since. The step up in distance should be no barrier on breeding and run style.

SACRED might finally get her big day at 4/1 in the City of York (3.00pm). She almost certainly wants seven furlongs, so ran tidily enough in the Jubilee at Ascot, but didn’t really get the rub of the green in the Lennox behind Sandrine. Expect this race to work out much better for her at a track where she has run very well before.

ALFRED BOUCHER can complete an audacious and extraordinary Ebor week double at 11/1 by taking the eponymous feature (3.35pm). It is hard to stress the ease with which he won the two miler here earlier in the week, beating a very well handicapped filly and a really solid yardstick with quite a lot in hand. He is quirky and idle when hitting the front, but there is no way Ian Williams has found the bottom of him, and he can run another huge race.

TABDEED can atone for a rather luckless defeat in the Stewards’ Cup by taking the valuable sprint handicap at 10/1 (4.10pm). A rise in the weights is certainly no issue if he’s on song judged on past efforts, and cheekpieces aren’t a bad idea.

MISE EN SCENE is chanced at 17/2 (2.05pm) in the Atalanta Stakes. Clearly it’s hard to assert that she has trained on, but her pedigree suggest that she should and, if over what ailed her early in the season, is overpriced on her two year old runs in the Prestige and the Fillies’ Mile.

DEFENCE OF FORT can give Peter Chapple Hyam a big winner at 4/1 in the Solario Stakes (2.40pm). Both he and Desert Hero looked loaded with potential on their respective debuts, but the selection posted an excellent time and the form is quietly starting to work out nicely.