A competitive card at York to accompany the day's big event at Ascot further south, the King George Stakes. As part of the Go Racing In Yorkshire Summer Festival and a concert provided by Sugababes, there was a healthy crowd in attendance for a mild Saturday afternoon of racing. The feature race on the card was the Group Two York Stakes which had been won in the past by the likes of Twice Over, Time Test, Mukhadram and Thundering Blue, all of which would go on to either win or be placed in York's biggest race of the season, the Juddmonte International. The 2022 running of the Sky Bet sponsored race featured three former Royal Ascot winners and a Group One placed challenger. Claymore and Dubai Future won at the Royal Meeting in June on their last starts and the classy Dubai Honour was runner up in the Qipco Champions Stakes at Ascot in October 2021. It was a small but select field, but the winner was slightly unexpected in the form of Sir Busker, who was winning his first race since the 2020 Royal Ascot meeting in the Silver Hunt Cup. Sir Busker and Dubai Honour were locked in an epic battle down the stands side rail and the Kennet Valley Thoroughbreds Syndicate owned Sir Busker landed the spoils by a nose. It is possible both horses will return in three weeks for the Juddmonte. 
Elsewhere on the card, the valuable Sky Bet Dash Handicap over six furlongs was won by the very tough Gale Force Maya for trainer Michael Dods. Carrying joint-top weight of nine stone twelve pounds, her class saw her through and held off all challengers to win at York for the second time this year. The yearly novelty race, the Jump Jockeys' Nunthorpe Stakes, saw twenty national hunt riders swap fences for furlongs in a shock to their systems onboard five furlong sprinters. The race saw a one-two result for trainer Paul Midgely as Birkenhead under Jonathan England held off Leodis Dream and Sam Twiston-Davies in a tight finish.
Other star performances included Red Force One winning his second race in the space of a week and third in a row with an eight length romp in the stayers' handicap and Piastrella round out the day for punters by justifying favouritism. 

Race Winners:
BIRKENHEAD (Captain Gerrard x Vilnius) (P. Midgley / J. England) (#16)
GALE FORCE MAYA (Gale Force Ten x Parabola) (M. Dods / C. Beasley (#2)
SIR BUSKER (Sir Prancealot x Street Kitty) (W. Knight / B. Curtis) (#3)
CATCH THE PADDY (No Nay Never x Pandora's Box) (K. Ryan / K. Stott) (#2)
RED FORCE ONE (Lethal Force x Dusky Red) (P. Kirby / J. Watson) (#6)
MOLINARI (Mastercraftsman x Moon Empress) (M. Todhunter / D. Nolan) (#5)
PIASTRELLA (Awtaad x Tingleo) (N. Tinkler / F. McManoman) (#7)