Horse Racing Betting: Donn McClean’s Three Most Memorable Ebor Winners

The Ebor Heritage Handicap, is one of the most prestigious and highly anticipated flat horse races in the world. 

Held annually at York Racecourse, this illustrious event has witnessed some unforgettable showdowns between racing titans over the years. In this article, we delve into three of the most memorable renewals of the Ebor Heritage Handicap, as captured by esteemed horse racing journalist, Donn McClean.

Among the plethora of prestigious races that he has covered, the Ebor Heritage Handicap holds a special place in his heart and betting sites have odds at the ready for this year's renewal.

Donn McClean, with his seasoned expertise and keen eye for detail, captures the essence of these extraordinary races, immortalizing the triumphs, surprises, and heart-pounding moments that have shaped the Ebor Heritage Handicap into a timeless spectacle cherished by racing enthusiasts worldwide.

Sea Pigeon, 1979

Sea Pigeon was nine years old in 1979. By then, he had already won two Chester Cups and two Scottish Champion Hurdles and a Fighting Fifth Hurdle. We didn’t know it then but, quite remarkably, the best was yet to come.

His Ebor win was remarkable, probably his best ever performance on the flat. Saddled with 10 stone, he had to concede weight to each of his 16 rivals, but it did mean that his regular rider over hurdles, Jonjo O’Neill, could ride him in the race. 

And when the Sea-Bird gelding swept to the lead over a furlong out, he looked set to record an impressive victory. In the end, he idled close home, he only just got home from the three-year-old Donegal Prince, to whom he was conceding 40lb. But he did get home in front, to record a famous victory.

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Remarkably, no horse aged older than seven has won the Ebor since Sea Pigeon triumphed as a nine-year-old in 1979. Also, no horse has carried more than 9st 9lb to victory in the race since Peter Easterby’s horse carried 10st to victory 44 years ago. It was a remarkable performance, and it is a performance that gets more and more remarkable with every Ebor that passes.

Sea Pigeon’s own record became more remarkable too in the years that immediately followed. He won the Champion Hurdle in early 1980, he won another Fighting Fifth Hurdle in late 1980, and he won a second Champion Hurdle in 1981, as an 11-year-old. No horse aged older than nine has won the Champion Hurdle since. He was an extraordinary horse, a horse who talent was matched only by his versatility. 

Sesenta, 2009

Sesenta had won three times on the flat and three times over hurdle before she went to York in 2009. 

Winner of a premier handicap at The Curragh on Irish Guineas weekend earlier that year, Willie Mullins’ mare had been just beaten in the Ascot Stakes at Royal Ascot earlier that summer, but she had been well beaten in another premier handicap at the Galway Festival on her last run before the Ebor. The net result was that she was allowed go off at 25/1 at York.

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The name Willie Mullins probably didn’t command the same magnitude of fear among the layers on the flat then that it does now. But the perennial champion National Hunt trainer took the trouble of booking top-class apprentice Gary Carroll for the ride, and, unsurprisingly, given the top-class professional rider into which Carroll has now morphed, the youngster proved well up to the task on the big stage at York. 

He produced the King’s Theatre mare with a well-timed run to hit the front deep inside the final furlong, and get her home by a head from the favourite Changingoftheguard.

Heartbreak City, 2016

Sesenta was the second Irish-trained winner to win the Ebor in nine years, and she was the first of six Irish-trained horses that would prevail in the 13 years that followed. One of those was Hearbreak City, who sparked scenes of jubilation when he won the Ebor in 2016.

The Lando gelding had won the two-mile handicap at the Ebor meeting in 2015, and his trainer Tony Martin obviously put the Ebor itself 12 months thence on his radar. Winner of a handicap at Cork on his seasonal return in 2016, Heartbreak City won his maiden hurdle at Tipperary in May and he won a handicap hurdle at the Galway Festival in July. 

It wasn’t your typical Ebor preparation, but it is difficult to find a more astute target trainer than Tony Martin and, when the Here For The Craic Partnership’s horse loomed up in behind the leaders under Adam McNamara on the run to the two-furlong pole at York, it all looked very ominous.

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The rider just allowed his horse ease into his race, allowed him move up on the outside of the leader Seamour. It wasn’t until they had left the furlong marker behind that he asked him for his effort and, when he did, Heartbreak City responded. 

He careered away from his rivals inside the final 150 yards, and he had moved four lengths clear by the time he hit the winning line.

And then those celebrations. Turns out, the partnership that owned him was well named.