Top handicaps at York´ s big charity meeting

Today´s big meeting is at York, where all races are run in support of charity, but the card consists mainly of handicaps, all of which look very tricky. The card begins with the traditional Queen Mothers Cup for lady amateur riders over 1 1/2 miles at 15.05 CET with 19 runners. It is usually the safest option in such races to stick with the most experiencd riders, which in this case clearly means the two Irish stars Nina Carberry, who rides Mark Johnston´s consistent Spirit is Needed, and Katie Walsh on Steve Gollings´ Conquisto, who has not run on the flat for a while but has been in good form over hurdles. Both are badly drawn, but the expertise of the riders can perhaps negate this problem. Mark Johnston is one of several Yorkshire trainers who could dominate proceedings and his two runners in the 9 furlongs handicap at 15.40, Tartan Gunna (Richard Hills) and Opus Maximus (Joe Fanning) belong on the short list, together with consistent Distant Memories (Tom Tate/ Jamie Spe ncer).

It could be the turn of the Easterby family in the 6 furlongs race for 3yo´s at 16.15, with Mick saddling Hoof It (Graham Gibbons), owned by golfer Lee Eastwood and winner of his last 3 races but all at 5 furlongs, and Tim represented by Midnight Martini (David Allan), first or second in all recent starts. Swilly Ferry (Barry and Michael Hills) won a similar race at Newmarket last time, but has it all to do under top weight and a better alternative could be lightly-raced Madam Macie (John Hetherton/ Kieren Fallon), who landed a gamble at Haydock last time. The 10 furlongs event for 3yo´s at 16.50 is another difficult one, and our 3 against the field are Cultivar (Barry and Michael Hills), Thaahira (Michael Jarvis/ Richard Hills) and Ejteyaaz (Richard Fahey/ Paul Hanagan). Fahey is the top trainer here and saddles 3 in the 2yo maiden at 17.20. Sir Reginald is the choice of stable jockey Hanagan and is our best bet of the meeting.

Betting forecast:
1. Race: Spirit Is Needed - Crackentorp - Siberian Tiger
2. Race: Distant Memories - Elliptical - Opus Maximus
3. Race: Hoof It - Swilly Ferry - Madam Macie
4. Race: Thaahira - Rebel Soldier - Ejteyaaz
5. Race: Sir Reginald - Rojo Boy - Frankish Dynasty
6. Race: Soviet Secret - Zakiy - Ezra Church
7. Race: Averoo - Wyatt Earp - Misplaced Fortune