Hugo Palmer York Ebor day three runners blog - August 21, 2026

York - 1.50 – Lion Of Alba

We’ve dropped Lion Of Alba back to a mile, after running him over 1m 2f at Goodwood.  I thought he stayed that day, so here we’ll probably look to hold him up, ride him a bit more patiently, and hope to come off a strong pace so he can finish off his race really well.  We wouldn’t want it too soft for him, so we will keep an eye on the weather over the next day or so.

York - 3.00 – Adaay Of Scarlett

I’m very happy with Adaay Of Scarlett, he looks amazing and is in super order at home.  We’ve put cheekpieces on him here as we just felt he pulled up in front at Goodwood last time, and hopefully they will prevent a repeat of that.

This is very much his level, he’s been so consistent all season, not finishing out of the first two in six runs, so he very much deserves to land a big prize like this.  The market has him as one of the leading contenders so let’s hope that’s right.

York - 3.35 – Fitzella

Fitzella will be a big price in the Group 1 Nunthorpe, and she may not have encountered ground as slow as this previously, although plenty of jockeys have said don’t rule it out, so we’ll give it a go and see how she gets on.  If she ran the race she did in the Commonwealth Cup, when she finished fifth, she could be in the first handful, but she does need to return to form after two disappointing runs, albeit she did hit the line hard at Chester last time, having missed the break.

York - 4.45 – Speyside & Game Character

We run two in this valuable maiden.  Speyside ran well at Goodwood to finish third, and he has an action to suggest he will go on this easier ground.  He’s a lovely horse, his work since Goodwood has been good and we’re very happy with him.

I’m sure the debutant Game Character will go on this ground, he’s a neat, handy son of New Bay, not overly big, but a lovely, barrel-chested horse.  This is a big maiden to start him off in, but we like him a lot, and I hope he can give his owners a good day out and pick up some prize money, and we can lower our sights next time if we need to.  

York - 5.20 – Patagonia Girl

Patagonia Girl would not want much more rain, if it did come up soft I’d say she wouldn’t run, but if she does, we have Ashley Lewis claiming useful three pounds off her.  She generally runs her usual consistent race, so fingers-crossed she can again here if the ground is OK.

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