Ebor Festival Day 3: Lonsdale Cup and Nunthorpe Stakes Preview

Open to horses aged three and upwards, the 2026 renewal offers a first prize of £141,775. Over the years, the race has grown from Listed and Group 3 status into a major target for Europe’s leading stayers and an important stepping stone towards the biggest long-distance races later in the season.

Five-year-old Caballo De Mar, trained by George Scott, has progressed considerably since the earlier stages of his career. A horse who accumulated experience in handicaps and on different surfaces, he has developed into an international stayer capable of competing in Group company over two miles and beyond.

His longer-distance record is particularly relevant to the Lonsdale Cup. Caballo De Mar has raced successfully over trips ranging from around 1m6f to beyond two miles, and his 2026 campaign has included major staying races outside Britain. He won the Prix Vicomtesse Vigier over 3,100 metres at Longchamp in May and had earlier finished a close second over 3,200 metres at Meydan. Those performances mean Friday’s distance is not an unfamiliar step into the unknown.

Amiloc approaches the Lonsdale Cup with a different profile. The four-year-old, trained by Ralph Beckett, has had fewer career starts and established his reputation primarily over shorter distances before moving towards the staying division.

His early career was marked by a sequence of victories, with his most significant success coming in the 2025 King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot. Racing over 1m4f, Amiloc took the Group 2 contest by three-quarters of a length and maintained his unbeaten record at that stage of his career. He later moved up in distance and finished second at Group 1 level over 1m6f at the Curragh.

During 2026, he has continued to compete in strong company, including an appearance in the Coronation Cup at Epsom. The Lonsdale Cup now stretches the distance to 2m 56y, considerably further than the trip over which he recorded his Royal Ascot victory.

That makes the distance one of the main sporting questions around Amiloc on Friday. His previous form shows that he has competed effectively as his races have become longer, but a genuine two-mile contest asks something different from a mile and a half. York should therefore provide useful evidence about the direction his career takes within the staying division.

A little over an hour after the Lonsdale Cup, the demands change dramatically. The Nunthorpe Stakes is a Group 1 sprint over five furlongs, bringing together horses of different ages in one of Europe’s leading races over the minimum distance.

Three-year-old Bacio brings an unusual international profile to York. The American-bred colt is trained by Wesley Ward and arrives with a career record of four wins and one second from five starts, all at five furlongs.

His first races came in the United States, where he demonstrated his early speed on both dirt and turf. Bacio’s only defeat came when finishing second in the Speakeasy Stakes at Santa Anita as a juvenile, before he returned in 2026 with another victory over five furlongs.

His British debut at Royal Ascot in June significantly raised his profile. Running in the Palace of Holyroodhouse Handicap over five furlongs on good-to-firm ground, Bacio went to the front under Juan Hernandez and stayed there, finishing around four lengths clear in 58.36 seconds.

York represents a substantial change in company. Bacio moves from a handicap success into a Group 1 featuring established international sprinters, so the Nunthorpe asks a new question even though the distance itself is very familiar. His five career starts have nevertheless shown that travelling and switching surfaces have not prevented him from producing strong performances so far.

Four-year-old Rayevka has followed a more established Group-racing route. Trained in France by Francis-Henri Graffard, the daughter of Blue Point has been campaigned over five and six furlongs and has experience in major sprint races in Britain, France and the Middle East.

Her most relevant performance ahead of York came in the King Charles III Stakes at Royal Ascot in June. Racing over five furlongs on good-to-firm ground, Rayevka made late progress and finished second to Mission Central, beaten only a head. It was her strongest Group 1 result and provides recent evidence of her ability over exactly the distance she encounters in the Nunthorpe.