Enable is pick of the crop at Ebor Festival week in York

York is o en referred to as “the Ascot of the North” and not only is the quality of racing there for this week’s popular Ebor meeting almost as good as it was on the Royal Heath in June, the champagne will be less expensive and we don’t have to dress up in toppers ‘n tails!

However, punters should take note that the famous English highwaymen Dick Turpin, who was hanged in York in 1739, is not the only legend to have come to a sticky end on the Knavesmire, which has o en proved a grave- yard for equine megastars.

Brigadier Gerard, one of Europe’s best horses of the modern era, suffered his only defeat in 18 races here in 1972, while more recently the 2015 Derby winner Golden Horn was beaten by 50-1 shot Arabian Moon in the same race, the £1-million Juddmonte International, which is today’s feature on the first of what promises to be four fabulous days.

There would be no bigger shock this week than if dual Oaks winner and red-hot Arc favourite ENABLE bites the dust in tomorrow’s Group 1 Yorkshire Oaks but while John Gosden is taking nothing for granted, recalling that his previous Epsom heroine Taghrooda had been turned over at 1-5 in this race in 2014, he admits he “respects more than fears the opposition”.

Enable, like Taghrooda, has a victory on her CV against her elders in the King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot, and showed when beating Ulysses there she is equally effective on testing ground as she was on the ra ling fast terrain that she encountered on The Curragh.

The only horse to have beaten Enable in six races is stable companion SHUTTER SPEED, who is around double- figure odds for the wide-open Juddmonte International, for which it is hard to be dogmatic what will start favourite, let alone nominate the winner.

Shutter Speed clashed with Enable at Newbury in April, coming out on top by 2.75 lengths, and though Enable has since made huge strides and unlike her galloping companion is impervious to ground conditions, Shutter Speed remains high in the peck- ing order of Gosden’s three-year- olds.

Moreover, Shutter Speed, who wears a tongue-tie for the first time, has course form, overcoming atrocious conditions to win the Musidora Stakes at this course in May before finishing a close fourth in the French Oaks at Chantilly.

Immediate reaction from Gosden in France was that Shutter Speed’s stamina limitations had been exposed – “their classic is run over 2100m and our filly’s maximum is probably 2000m,” said the trainer – but Frankie Dettori was returning from a fractured shoulder and simply wasn’t fit enough to do the filly justice.

Shutter Speed missed Glorious Goodwood as the ground again went against her, so this is her first race since Chantilly, but has been working well at Newmarket and with the going likely to be faster on day one than at any other time this week, looks a value price to bring o an upset.

Bookmakers have Churchill, Barney Roy and Ulysses within half a point of each other at the head of the market, and cases can be made for all three.

Churchill, the English and Irish 2000 Guineas winner, melted on what was the hottest day of the year at Royal Ascot, running a lifeless race in the St James’s Palace Stakes behind Barney Roy, whom he had beaten in the New- market classic.

Barney Roy then went up in distance for the Eclipse (2000m) at Sandown, going under by the width of a cigarette paper to Ulysses in a thrilling duel up the Esher hill, and the winner sub- sequently lost nothing in defeat when failing gallantly to give 7kg to the younger Enable at Ascot.

The Hannons have never found York a lucky course but are bullish about Barney Roy’s chances, and, being more straight-forward than Ulysses, who has to be pro- duced with precision timing, otherwise he will down tools, Barney Roy might prove best of the “big three”.

I would definitely put a line through Churchill’s Ascot op and he runs as if this step up in distance might suit him, but, de- spite those two classic wins, we are still waiting for him to show us the “wow” factor this season.

Having backed Gosden’s CRACKSMAN in both the English and Irish Derby – he came back with a bronze and silver medal – I’ll be staying with him for the Group 2 Great Voltigeur Stakes, today’s main supporting race.

Gosden, who is the man to follow on the Knavesmire this week, tells me Cracksman has improved through the summer – “he’ll be even be er next year” predicted the trainer – and for me he’s the best bet of the week dropped down a grade.

And the second best is America’s “freak”, LADY AURELIA in Friday’s Group 1 Nunthorpe Stakes. Dettori, who rode Lady Aurelia to a seven lengths success in the Queen Mary at Royal Ascot last year, was injured when she won the King’s Stand there in June.

But Frankie was back on board for a gallop at York last week and, having clocked a fast time over 800m, he declared “it felt like we were travelling a million miles an hour, and while I have a lot of

respect for Goodwood winner Bataash, my filly is a machine”.

Talking of machines, Winx, racing’s golden girl in Australia, where she is as popular as Kylie Minogue, made it 18 straight wins when overcoming a tardy start to come from last to first at Randwick last weekend.

It was an incredible performance and you would need to be an eternal optimist to back against her winning a third Cox Plate at Sydney in October, though, in contrast, I’ll definitely be opposing America’s 2016 Horse Of The Year, Arrogate, when he defends his Breeders Cup Classic crown at Del Mar in California on 4 November.

Arrogate, who followed up in the Pegasus in Florida and the Dubai World Cup at Meydan, is a fantastic horse, but clearly does not operate to full capacity at Del Mar, being beaten there for the second time this year in last week’s $1m Pacific Classic, won by stablemate Collected.

Arrogate ran only marginally be er than he had done in the San Diego Handicap – he has lost his mojo this season and jockey Mike Smith said “he is not handling the track, and it’s just a shame the Breeders Cup is at Del Mar this year”.