IF there’s a forgotten horse in today’s £500,000 Sky Bet Ebor (3.35), could it be last year’s runner-up, who bumped into a subsequent track record-breaking Breeders’ Cup Turf winner in the process?

It has been a quieter first half of 2026 than 12 months ago for owner Chris Jones’ Ascending, but the smart stayer is back to the scene of the crime in a bid to become Henry de Bromhead’s second Ebor winner in three years.

A mark of 98 means that last season’s Ascot Stakes winner at the Royal Meeting is competing off the same rating as when second to Ethical Diamond in this race. He didn’t quite threaten last time in the Group 3 Ballyroan Stakes, but that was over only a mile and a half - a full mile shorter than his Royal Ascot win - and connections were pleased with how he finished out over that shorter-than-optimal trip.

Jones told The Irish Field: “It was an extraordinary run from him at York last year. Ascot was our Gold Cup last summer, so never did I think that he could go to an Ebor and get so close to winning it.

“As it turns out, if you took Ethical Diamond out of the race, he’d have been a good winner, but that’s what happened. It was a fantastic run.”

Ascending was a 12/1 shot last year. He is more than double those odds today.

“We’re excited to be going back to York with him again, but we are definitely more hopeful than confident,” said Jones.

“He’s struggled a little to hit his very best form so far this year and he ran a bit below par at Royal Ascot. I think we were happy with his run at Leopardstown last time, though, given it was over an inadequate trip for him.

“Our priority that day was to hopefully see him finishing out well and I thought he stayed on and hit the line well.

“We’re going to roll the dice this weekend and see how we get on. As I mentioned to Henry, there’s only one Ebor. We wouldn’t have been thrilled to see the rain arriving this week and hopefully we’ll get a dry spell into the race.”

There is a strong Irish challenge in this year’s Ebor, including the Willie Mullins-trained duo of Mr Hollywood and new German recruit Love Me Tender (not to be confused with a J.P. McManus-owned stablemate of the same name). Joseph O’Brien runs Emit and Ger Lyons bids for more Ebor joy with Poetic Sound.

“We were aiming Love Me Tender at earlier in the summer, but he picked up a little setback so we gave him more time,” said Mullins. “We are happy enough coming here now and are pleased we have managed to get him in. It would be hard enough to have another Ethical Diamond but, look, we are in and William Buick rides so we are very happy.”