Tipperary trained Queenstown is well backed for Ebor Crown

The Ballydoyle-trained Queenstown is the early antepost mover for next week’s York Ebor with BoyleSports, who has slashed the odds about him winning into 8/1 from 14/1.

The four-year-old has twice finished second to superstar stayer and stablemate Kyprios this season, including when beaten just a length in Leopardstown’s Saval Beg Stakes and has been nominated as Aidan O’Brien’s leading hope in the £1m feature next Saturday.

Queenstown shares favouritism with David O’Meara’s Epic Poet and Andrew Balding’s Fairbanks, who was last seen finishing runner-up at Glorious Goodwood over the Ebor’s mile-and-three-quarters trip.

Last year’s winning yard of Willie Mullins could be represented by Royal Ascot scorer Belloccio (10/1) whose connections will be hoping for rain, with Galway one-two Jackfinbar (20/1) and Hipop De Loire (16/1) other likely contenders from team Clossuton.

With Irish horses winning three of the last five renewals since the prize pool was boosted to the £1m mark in 2019, they continue to prove popular in the betting, with Dermot Weld’s Harbour Wind also catching the eye of punters at 10/1 to give the trainer his first win in the race.

Brian O’Keeffe, spokesperson for BoyleSports, said: “The Ebor is always a massively competitive affair, but Aidan O’Brien has voiced his opinion that Queenstown looks well handicapped and punters are following him in. He’s the best backed horse in what is always a very difficult puzzle to solve.”

York – Ebor Handicap

8/1        Epic Poet

8/1        Fairbanks

8/1        Queenstown

10/1      Belloccio

10/1      Harbour Wind

10/1      Naqeeb

12/1      Magical Zoe

16/1      Burdett Road

16/1      Hipop De Loire

16/1      Klondike

16/1      My Mate Mozzie

16/1      Onesmoothoperator

16/1      Phantom Flight

16/1      Relentless Voyager

16/1      Ziggy

20/1 Bar