Handicapping.com's European Racing Report

Handicapping.com
European Racing Report

by Elliot Slater

Elliot Slater has worked as a professional broadcast journalist specialising in horse racing for over two decades.

A keen student of the form book and of handicapping, Slater has proved a regular success as a tipster. His first-hand knowledge of the intricacies of the on and off-course betting industry (for a number of years he was a respected SP returner) has proved another significant factor in his perception of the betting and racing industry as a whole.

A successful thoroughbred breeder, Slater's additional knowledge of pedigree and bloodlines offers yet another angle that will help keep you ahead of the game.

Overturn: The Long Range Advice for the Ebor

With the first two weeks of August being a fairly quiet spell for major races in the UK, it's worth grabbing the opportunity to look ahead to the next big racing festival which takes place at York in the middle of the month and features one of Europe's richest handicap races, the Totesport Ebor Handicap.

The Ebor is run over one mile and six furlongs, attracts quality horses from all the top yards and has a rich history of providing tremendous finishes in front of a massive crowd on the hallowed turf known locally as the Knavesmire, where some 300 years ago the notorious highwayman Dick Turpin was hanged for his misdemeanours.

Hopefully there'll be no such incidents on August 18th when, despite having to take on as many as 23 rivals, I believe a horse called Overturn can land the bumper prize for National Hunt trainer Donald McCain, son of the Aintree legend 'Ginger' McCain, the man who trained Red Rum to win an unprecedented three Aintree Grand Nationals in the 1970s. The horse is my Ebor racing tip for this renewal.

McCain has been a revelation since taking over the licence from his father a couple of seasons ago and has quickly established himself as a top trainer of high class steeplechasers and hurdlers. In Overturn however, McCain has found a horse of rare ability that is equally good over the sticks and on the Flat. A winner of the Scottish Champion Hurdle in April, Overturn switched codes to put up a tremendous display in making every yard of the running to win the prestigious Northumberland Plate Handicap at Newcastle over two miles on June, before reverting back to hurdling and running away from classy opposition to win the coveted Galway Hurdle in the west of Ireland at the end of July. This kind of form shows exactly why he is such a hot horse racing tip.

Raised just 5lbs for his Newcastle win, I believe that Overturn, a horse who goes on any ground, stays well and is 100 per cent genuine, represents great ante-post value at current odds of 12/1, and has the potential to continue an astonishing run of success for his high-flying handler.