Sky Bet Club Handicap – Thirsk

Thirsk

16:47

Sky Bet Club Handicap

Date 2026-05-16

Distance 7f218y

Class Class 3

Going Good

Type Flat

Surface Turf

Age Band 4yo+

Prize £9,421

Weather Pt. Cloudy

Temp 2.6°C

Wind 4mph N

Rain 0%

Runners (14)

EW Terms: 3 places, ¼ odds (standard bookmaker terms — may vary)

#	Horse	Jockey / Trainer	Wt	Gear	Form	OR	RPR	TS	Last	Crs	Dst	Val	Scr	EW	Odds
1 (12)	City Of Poets Chestnut J:P J McDonald T:James Tate	J:P J McDonald T:James Tate	137	—	621-39	92	104	86	14d	—	—	-2	15.5	1.00/1	4/1 20%
Talented on AW; carried out of his ground over C&D latest; of interest in this lower grade
5 (3)	Oolong Poobong Bay J:Callum Rodriguez T:Edward Bethell	J:Callum Rodriguez T:Edward Bethell	134	t	2/214-	89	99	80	330d	—	—	+4	16.9	1.38/1	11/2 15%
Convincing winner at Haydock (7f) then cracking fourth in big 1m Ascot handicap; off since
3 (1)	New Image Bay J:Daniel Tudhope T:David O'Meara	J:Daniel Tudhope T:David O'Meara	135	—	9/86-3	90	107	88	26d	—	—	+5	16.3	1.50/1	6/1 14%
Excellent 4yo form at 7f/1m; out of sorts in two runs last year; back to form latest
6 (9)	Impartiality Bay J:Shane Gray T:Phillip Makin	J:Shane Gray T:Phillip Makin	130	p	2034-9	85	102	92	34d	—	—	+1	11.8	1.75/1	7/1 13%
Won first 3 handicaps in 2025; good second off this mark at Glorious Goodwood; thereabouts
8 (4)	Hot Cash Bay J:Rose Dawes(5) T:Jack Channon	J:Rose Dawes(5) T:Jack Channon	128	—	5654-0	83	103	89	28d	—	—	+1	10.9	2.13/1	17/2 11%
Form subsided slightly at the end of 2025 but 2lb below winning mark in June
2 (13)	Mr Professor Bay J:Sam James T:Kevin Philippart De Foy	J:Sam James T:Kevin Philippart De Foy	135	—	0/056-	90	101	84	324d	—	—	+4	12.2	2.50/1	10/1 9%
Best on soft, as when winning the Lincoln in 2024; lightly raced and lesser efforts since
9 (14)	Empire Of Light Bay J:Oliver Stammers T:Grant Tuer	J:Oliver Stammers T:Grant Tuer	127	—	9541-1	82	101	84	21d	—	—	+12	20.4	2.50/1	10/1 9%
All three wins for yard at 1m2f, most recently on reappearance; career-high mark now
4 (11)	Esherann Bay J:Zak Wheatley(3) T:Declan Carroll	J:Zak Wheatley(3) T:Declan Carroll	135	t	141-88	90	99	66	14d	—	—	+5	11.7	3.50/1	14/1 7%
Won two 1m races in Ireland last year; can improve on two defeats for this yard
13 (5)	Empirestateofmind Bay J:Jason Hart T:John & Sean Quinn	J:Jason Hart T:John & Sean Quinn	125	b	295-04	80	104	67	30d	—	—	+4	8.9	4.00/1	16/1 6%
All wins on good or softer, two over C&D; quite well treated and fair fourth latest
10 (10)	Capital Guarantee Chestnut J:Mark Winn T:David O'Meara	J:Mark Winn T:David O'Meara	126	—	908-02	81	105	67	23d	—	—	+4	9.4	4.00/1	16/1 6%
Winner of his only C&D start, last May; later successful off this mark; close 2nd latest
14 (2)	Leadenhall Bay J:Duran Fentiman T:Tim Easterby	J:Duran Fentiman T:Tim Easterby	119	—	6300-5	74	106	102	17d	—	—	+2	7.4	4.50/1	18/1 5%
Never-nearer fourth on Pontefract return; 4lb lower than 1m win in August; competitive
7 (6)	Zapphire Bay J:Ryan Sexton T:Julie Camacho	J:Ryan Sexton T:Julie Camacho	130	p	42013-	85	103	91	251d	—	—	+17	21.6	5.00/1	20/1 5%
Handles most ground; on a highish mark; past evidence suggests she'll come on for the run
11 (8)	Frankies Dream Brown J:Paul Mulrennan T:Jennie Candlish	J:Paul Mulrennan T:Jennie Candlish	126	h	5187-0	81	102	94	28d	—	—	+6	8.4	10.00/1	40/1 2%
Won six races at 5f-7f in 2025; down the field latest after a layoff; others more likely
12 (7)	Count Palatine Bay J:Connor Beasley T:Michael Dods	J:Connor Beasley T:Michael Dods	126	—	6612-0	81	103	97	28d	—	—	+6	8.4	10.00/1	40/1 2%
All four wins at 7f; worth another go over 1m but finished last on reappearance here

Horse	bet365	Coral	Virgin Bet
City Of Poets	4/1	4/1	4/1
Oolong Poobong	5/1	11/2	5/1
New Image	6/1	6/1	6/1
Impartiality	7/1	7/1	7/1
Hot Cash	7/1	17/2	15/2
Mr Professor	9/1	10/1	10/1
Empire Of Light	10/1	9/1	9/1
Esherann	14/1	14/1	14/1
Empirestateofmind	16/1	16/1	16/1
Capital Guarantee	16/1	16/1	16/1
Leadenhall	18/1	16/1	16/1
Zapphire	20/1	14/1	18/1
Frankies Dream	40/1	40/1	40/1
Count Palatine	40/1	33/1	40/1

Predictor

Scored on Official Rating (max 30), Recent Form (max 25), and Market Odds (max 20). Max score: 75.

1st

Zapphire

21.6

OR: 8.8 Form: 11.5 Odds: 1.4

20/1

2nd

Empire Of Light

20.4

OR: 8 Form: 10 Odds: 2.4

10/1

3rd

Oolong Poobong

16.9

OR: 9.8 Form: 3.5 Odds: 3.6

11/2

New Image

16.3

OR: 10 Form: 3 Odds: 3.3

6/1

City Of Poets

15.5

OR: 10.5 Form: 0 Odds: 5

4/1

Mr Professor

12.2

OR: 10 Form: 0 Odds: 2.2

10/1

Impartiality

11.8

OR: 8.8 Form: 0 Odds: 3.1

7/1

Esherann

11.7

OR: 10 Form: 0 Odds: 1.7

14/1

Hot Cash

10.9

OR: 8.3 Form: 0 Odds: 2.7

17/2

Capital Guarantee

9.4

OR: 7.8 Form: 0 Odds: 1.6

16/1

Empirestateofmind

8.9

OR: 7.5 Form: 0 Odds: 1.4

16/1

Frankies Dream

8.4

OR: 7.8 Form: 0 Odds: 0.7

40/1

Count Palatine

8.4

OR: 7.8 Form: 0 Odds: 0.7

40/1

Leadenhall

7.4

OR: 6 Form: 0 Odds: 1.4

18/1

Ratings

Horse	OR	RPR	TS
City Of Poets	92	104	86
New Image	90	107	88
Mr Professor	90	101	84
Esherann	90	99	66
Oolong Poobong	89	99	80
Impartiality	85	102	92
Zapphire	85	103	91
Hot Cash	83	103	89
Empire Of Light	82	101	84
Capital Guarantee	81	105	67
Frankies Dream	81	102	94
Count Palatine	81	103	97
Empirestateofmind	80	104	67
Leadenhall	74	106	102

Last Run

Horse	Last Run	Status
City Of Poets	14d ago	Fit
Esherann	14d ago	Fit
Leadenhall	17d ago	Fit
Empire Of Light	21d ago	Fit
Capital Guarantee	23d ago	Fit
New Image	26d ago	Fit
Hot Cash	28d ago	Fit
Frankies Dream	28d ago	Fit
Count Palatine	28d ago	Fit
Empirestateofmind	30d ago	Fit
Impartiality	34d ago	Fit
Zapphire	251d ago	Long break
Mr Professor	324d ago	Long break
Oolong Poobong	330d ago	Long break