York Racecourse

Skybet Dash 2008

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Skybet Dash 2007
Saturday 28th July

A field of 12 will go to post for the £50,000 Skybet Dash (3.15pm) over six furlongs, with three-year-old El Bosque, the seven-length winner of a six-furlong Ripon handicap on July 9, the current market leader at 7/2 with Sky Bet .

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El Bosque Primed for Skybet Dash
24/07/07

Improving three-year-old El Bosque is all set to test his mettle against older sprinters in the £50,000 Skybet Dash (3.50pm), run over six furlongs at York on Saturday, July 28.

The son of Elnadim - installed the 9/1 joint-favourite by the sponsors - proved a revelation when encountering heavy ground for the first time on his most recent outing at Ripon on July 9, routing a competitive field of three-year-old handicappers under top weight of 9st 7lb when storming home by seven lengths from Top Bid in the six-furlong contest.

Trainer Rod Millman said this morning: “El Bosque is an intended runner at York on Saturday in the Skybet Dash.

“He won very well last time, but I’m not sure if that race was quite as good as it looked. The handicapper has put us up 9lb, which is a bit of a worry. He handled the ground well while some of the others clearly did not.

“I was surprised with how well he won. We did fancy him strongly - that was the furthest I’ve ever sent a horse before, but I couldn’t have predicted he would score that easily.

“He’s come out of the race fine. Newbury would have been on his agenda last weekend, but that was abandoned, so it’s just a case of keeping him ticking over. He’s a light-framed horse and you wouldn’t want to over-work him at this time of the year.”

El Bosque - whose juvenile form included a close fourth to Elhamri in the Weatherbys Super Sprint at Newbury - could face the likes of 2006 Skybet Dash victor Wyatt Earp and Group One winners Fayr Jag and Bahamian Pirate in Saturday’s handicap, and Millman acknowledges it will be no easy task against more experienced rivals.

The Devon-based handler continued: “Taking on older horses for the first time is never easy. I’m hoping James [Millman] will be able to claim off him - he knows the horse and has won on him before, although nothing has been decided yet.

“El Bosque is rated 103 now and is quite hard to place. He would still need to improve a fair bit to make the step up to Listed company, but this race will tell us more. He’s surprised me how he has kept on improving and hopefully there is more to come.”

Macorville has Skybet.com Silver Cup Target

Also heading to York on Saturday is the George Moore-trained Macorville, handed the go ahead for the £35,000 Listed skybet.com Silver Cup Stakes (2.40pm), run over a mile and six furlongs of the Knavesmire.

The four-year-old Diesis gelding is out to atone for an agonising defeat last time out in the Northumberland Plate at Newcastle on June 30, when Juniper Girl headed Macorville on the line to score by a short-head.

George Moore said today: “The plan for Macorville is to go to York for the skybet.com Silver Cup Stakes.

“He ran an absolute blinder at Newcastle, but was just beaten by a very good filly. He is tremendously game and loves soft ground - the more cut the better. The trip will be fine for him.

“The Old Newton Cup was going to be his next race, but that meeting was called off. He is in very good order now and has recovered great from his exertions - we are very happy with him. Macorville deserves to win a good prize and must have a great chance.

“He’s a lot stronger this year than he was last [year], and who’s to say he won’t be stronger next year. We just hope he keeps on improving and then we’ll have a lot of fun with him. Kevin Darley will take the ride and he gets on very well with the horse.

“Given his conditions, I would be very hopeful of a bold show this weekend. If the ground stays on the soft side, he will come back to York for the Ebor Handicap (Wednesday, August 22).”

Skybet Day at York on Saturday, July 28, also features the £50,000 Group Two Skybet York Stakes (3.15pm), a high-class contest over an extended 10 furlongs for three-year-olds and upwards. The race has attracted 25 entries, including the Vodafone Derby runner-up Eagle Mountain and six entries from the Maktoum family’s Godolphin operation.