Rebel’s Romance: Favourite wins 2025 Yorkshire Cup by a head

Favourite Rebel’s Romance won the 2025 Yorkshire Cup by a head from Epic Poet.

The Charlie Appleby-trained seven-year-old was 11-10 favourite for the feature race on the final day of the Dante Festival at York.

But he was made to work all the way to the line in a dramatic race in which all five runners were in contention for victory until the final half-furlong.

Amid good conditions under bright sunshine, the pace of the one mile, six furlong race was slow until the final bend.

Rebel’s Romance sat second, with jockey William Buick angling him out to the far side of the course to try to find space for the final sprint, which saw the field spread across the track virtually level as they charged for home.

Rebel’s Romance edged out 7-1 chance Epic Poet, with 10-3 second favourite Sweet William third.

There were less than two lengths between all the runners at the finishing line, and Buick said that while it had been a difficult race, the quality of his mount had told.

“It was a very slow pace,” he told ITV Racing. “He’s top class, a dream to ride. Nothing suited him there – it was a messy pace. But he’s a dream horse.”