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The weights are unveiled today for the Ebor, Britain's richest handicap, which is staged over nearly a mile and three-quarters (1m 5f 188y) at York on Saturday, August 25.
The Sky Bet Ebor, which will be worth £1 million in 2019, is the highlight of the fourth and final day of the Welcome To Yorkshire Ebor Festival at which Sky Bet backs another 11 races.
Stratum is Sky Bet's 6/1 favourite following his impressive three-length success in the JLT Cup at Newbury on July 21. The Willie Mullins-trained five-year-old, owned by Tony Bloom, has been allotted 9st 2lb.
Connections of the ante-post favourite will be hoping that Stratum makes the line-up for Sky Bet Ebor, which has a maximum field of 20 (plus two reserves). Stratum currently sits in joint 34th place (with another six horses) in the handicap.
Mullins, Ireland's champion Jump trainer, is seeking a second Sky Bet Ebor victory following Sesenta's success in 2009. His 10 other Sky Bet Ebor entries include Chelkar (9st, 9/1 with Sky Bet), fourth to stablemate Lagostovegas (9st, 20/1) in the Ascot Handicap over two and a half miles at Royal Ascot in June.
Other leading Mullins-trained contenders include Gustavus Vassa (8st 10lb, 14/1), owned by a Highclere Thoroughbred Racing syndicate and runner-up in two competitive handicaps in Ireland this season, and Low Sun (8st 12lb, 14/1), impressive when scoring at the Curragh at the end of June.
Several Sky Bet Ebor contenders were beaten by Stratum at Newbury including the fourth Golden Wolf (Richard Hughes, 8st 5lb, 33/1) and fifth Nakeeta (Iain Jardine, 9st 7lb, 16/1), the 2017 Ebor hero who subsequently finished fifth in the G1 Melbourne Cup in Australia. Flint Jack (1922 and 1923) has been the only dual Ebor winner.
Jointly-heading the handicap for the Sky Bet Ebor on 9st 13lb (a rating of 113) are the J P McManus-owned Housesofparliament (Joseph O'Brien IRE, 20/1), third in the 2016 G1 St Leger and subsequently very useful over hurdles, and Marmelo (Hughie Morrison, 16/1), a dual G2 winner including on his latest appearance in the Prix Maurice de Nieuil at Longchamp on July 14.
Trainer Marco Botti could have two runners in the Sky Bet Ebor Handicap, with the Newmarket handler being responsible for G1 winner Dylan Mouth (9st 10lb, 20/1) and improving four-year-old Crowned Eagle (9st 7lb, 16/1).
Dylan Mouth proved himself over the course and distance on his latest start when beating Dal Harraild (William Haggas, 9st 11lb, 20/1) by a neck in the G3 John Smith's Silver Cup on July 14.
Now a seven-year-old, Dylan Mouth was previously trained in Italy by Botti's brother Stefano where he won three G1 prizes as well as the G2 Italian Derby in 2014.
Botti revealed: "Dylan Mouth seems in good form.
"Having won a G3 last time out, he has obviously gone up in the weights a little bit, which makes it tougher for him.
"He handles the track well at York and he showed last time that he stays the mile and three quarters.
"The Sky Bet Ebor is still under strong consideration because the prize money is so good. The other option is a race at Saratoga - his owner (the Honorable Earle I Mack) lives in America.
"We will make a decision in a couple of weeks and hopefully we will come up with the right plan."
Crowned Eagle has done nothing but improve since joining Botti from John Gosden at the backend last season.
He captured the 11-furlong Roseberry Handicap on Polytrack at Kempton Park in March and last time out went down by a neck to Rainbow Rebel (Mark Johnston, 9st 5lb, 20/1) in the 12-furlong Old Newton Cup at Haydock Park on July 7.
In between, he finished second in the Sky Bet First Race Special Jorvik Handicap at York's Dante Festival in May before coming home a respectable sixth in the Duke Of Edinburgh Handicap at Royal Ascot, both also over 12 furlongs, a distance he has yet to race beyond.
Botti added: "Crowned Eagle is in great form and the Sky Bet Ebor is the plan. He has done so well for us this year and was just beaten in the Old Newton Cup.
"We were considering sending him to Turkey for the international weekend there, but English horses are not allowed to run in Turkey this year.
"He fought right to the line at Haydock and the way he has been running suggests the extra couple of furlongs won't be a problem in the Ebor."
The Maktoum family's Godolphin operation holds a strong hand, with its 11 entries including Hamada (Charlie Appleby, 9st 7lb, 12/1), a hugely-impressive seven-length winner at Newmarket's July Meeting.
First Nation (Charlie Appleby, 9st 3lb, 14/1) is yet to appear in 2018 but was a highly-progressive performer last season, while the lightly-raced Game Starter (Saeed bin Suroor, 9st 8lb) was successful on all three of his outings in 2017. Walton Street (Charlie Appleby, 9st 4lb, 16/1) was a winner at Meydan, UAE, in February and a good third on his European return in the Duke Of Edinburgh Handicap at Royal Ascot.
Other leading Sky Bet Ebor contenders include Dash Of Spice (David Elsworth, 9st 6lb, 14/1), who landed competitive 12-furlong handicaps at Epsom and Royal Ascot before disappointing when dropping down in trip for the John Smith's Cup Handicap over an extended 10 furlongs at York on July 14.
Funny Kid (Christophe Ferland FR, 9st 5lb, 14/1) is a G3 winner and could attempt to provide a first Ebor success for France, while John Gosden has three contenders including the superbly-bred Royal Line (9st 5lb, 14/1), last seen when taking the Great Metropolitan Handicap at Epsom in April.
Michael Shinners, Racing PR Manager at Sky Bet, commented: "We are now exactly a month away from the £500,000 Sky Bet Ebor and the countdown intensifies today with the publication of the handicap weights.
"Stratum propelled himself to the himself to the head of Sky Bet's ante-post market when winning so impressively at Newbury on July 21 and it will be fascinating to see how the market develops over the next few weeks as further contenders emerge."
Sky Bet Ebor Handicap- Paying 5 Places - Each way terms: 1/5 for first 5 places
Latest Sky Bet odds
6/1 Stratum
9/1 Chelkar
12/1 Hamada
14/1 Dash of Spice, First Nation, Funny Kid, Game Starter, Gustavus Vassa, Low Sun, Royal Line, Cartwright
16/1 Crowned Eagle, Light Pillar, Marmelo, Nakeeta, Walton Street, Whiskey Sour
20/1 Amazing Red, Atty Persse, Count Octave, Dal Harraild, Dubawi Fifty, Dylan Mouth, Eynhallow, Housesofparliament, Lagostovegas, Laws of Spin, Melting Dew, Muntahaa, Nearly Caught, Platitude, Rainbow Rebel, Sea The Lion, Sharjah, Tigris River, Weekender
25/1 Blakeney Point, Buzz, Elgin, Good Run, Law Girl, Lord Yeats, Maths Prize, Meri Devie, Mountain Bell, Mustajeer, Prize Money, Quloob, Restorer, Saroog, Sir Chauvelin, Teodoro, Top Tug, Twilight Payment, Uradel, What A Home, White Desert
33/1 Alwaysandforever, Cosmelli, Dance The Dream, Erik The Red, Euro Nightmare, Financial Conduct, Fun Mac, Golden Wolf, Hochfeld, Montaly, Natural Scenery, On To Victory, Saigon City, Saunter, Scotland, Shraaoh, Time To Study
40/1 Eddystone Rock, Guns of Leros, Humble Hero, Kelly's Dino, My Reward, Reshoun, Temple Church, Watersmeet, Zeelander
50/1 Arch Villain, Blue Rambler, Curbyourenthusiasm, Golden Birthday, Island Brave, Mirsaale, Speedo Boy, Stars Over The Sea
66/1 Eye of The Storm, Long Call, Mount Tahan, Percy's Word, Tommy Docc
