Ebor Festival: Sonnyboyliston wins Ebor Handicap in photo finish at York

3 years ago 58

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Sonnyboyliston edged out Quickthorn in a photo finish to win the Ebor Handicap at York.

The four-year-old 10-1 shot, ridden by Ben Coen, settled in the pack in the early stages of the race as Blue Cup and Humanitarian ran a couple of lengths clear.

But, challenging down the middle, Sonnyboyliston pulled into the lead on the final furlong.

Coen said it was "an unbelievable race to win".

"To have a winner at Ascot, to have a winner at Goodwood and to come here and win the Ebor again, it's all the hard work that everyone does," trainer Johnny Murtagh told ITV Racing.

Sonnyboyliston was Murtagh's second winner of the Ebor, having sent out Mutual Regard to win the feature in 2014.

"It's knowing the kind of horse it takes to win these races - when I'm doing the entries now I'm going back to my experience as a jockey," Murtagh added.

"The last time he ran here, he ran very well. That was a good race, although they went a bit slow and he got a bit outpaced, but I loved the way he came home."

Pre-race favourite Hamish was earlier declared a non-runner on account of the going.

Alounak finished third, with Shanroe fourth in the £500,000 showpiece.