Extremely Zain was backed into 7-4 from 5-1 for the 2.25 York race on Saturday, with Paddy Power making him the best-backed runner on a morning of heavy market moves across the ITV cards at York, Sandown and Chester.
For punters watching Chester Races as well as York and Sandown, the price shifts offered the clearest read on where money was landing before the action started. Extremely Zain had been as big as 5-1 at the 48-hour stage, but the support kept coming and by Saturday morning he was a much shorter 7-4 chance.
Paul Binfield said the move had been relentless. “Extremely Zain was as big as 5-1 at the 48-hour stage and it's been one-way traffic since with him now currently 7-4,” he said. “He's the horse that punters have latched on to and we have continued to lay him throughout the morning at the shorter prices.” That detail matters because it shows the market was not just drifting toward the horse; Paddy Power was still willing to oppose him even as the money built.
Extremely Zain was not the only runner to attract support. In Chester’s 1.35, Station X shortened to 9-4 from 3, while Jeddaal moved to 9-4 from 7-2 in the 2.10. York also saw Humble Spark trimmed to 4 from 9-2 in the 1.50, Mount Atlas go to 11-5 from 9-4 in the 3.00 and Thunder Call cut to 7-2 from 9-2 in the 3.35. At Sandown, Words Of Truth went to 9-4 from 11-4 in the 2.42, High Degree shortened to 9-4 from 10-3 in the 3.17 and Sticktoyourguns was backed into 9-4 from 3 in the 3.55.
There was also a notable positive in the Macmillan Sprint Handicap at York, where First Legion shortened to 10-1 from 20. He won over course and distance on his debut in May last year, but has gone 0-10 since and finished fifth at York last month, so the market move may tempt backers more than it convinces doubters.
The morning’s betting also stretched beyond Saturday’s cards. Ryan Moore was 1-3 with Ladbrokes for the Royal Ascot leading rider title, which he has won 12 times before, and he has already collected 92 victories at the meeting through his association with Aidan O’Brien. O’Brien was 1-6 for Royal Ascot top trainer, with Karl Burke and Andrew Balding both at 12-1, Charlie Appleby and John and Thady Gosden at 14-1 and Joseph O’Brien at 33-1.
Nicola McGeady said the combination of Moore and O’Brien still set the standard in the Royal Ascot markets, and the figures back that up. For Saturday, though, the sharper question is whether Extremely Zain can justify the support when the 2.25 at York goes off and the money that has chased him all morning meets the race itself.
