Dave Nevison's Saturday tips: best bets for York and Sandown

There are plenty of races for me to get stuck into on an afternoon full of big-field handicaps on Saturday. Hopefully these four will reward me for an each-way multiple on a day which I always claim is my anniversary of working in racing! 

It is now 48 years since I had my first job selling Timeform racecards in the cheap ring across the course at York. How times have changed since then! Best of luck with all your bets on Saturday, and enjoy all the action live on Racing TV.

This is always one of my favourite handicaps of the year and after much mulling over, I am happy to go with Star Jasmine, the only three-year-old in the field. 

George Boughey will no doubt have planned for this race and has booked Sophie Smith who rides plenty of winners in these races for Ed Dunlop, so I am happy with the rider. 

Star Jasmine may not be bred to be a stayer but certainly races as though stamina is her strong suit, and she is progressing with experience. 

Although she was only third last time out at Hamilton Star, Jasmine was beaten a short head and a nose after being caught out behind in a slowly run race, and stayed on really well. 

Lord Melbourne was the other one I was thinking of backing after his unlucky run from out of the weights at Epsom last time, but he disappointed and let backers down after promising runs on a couple of occasions last season.

Although he hasn’t gone on as I expected since his promising reappearance in the Spring Cup at Newbury, I am sticking with Bill Silvers in this competitive contest. 

He finished fifth at Newbury after blowing the start and making his effort wide of the principle contenders. It did look like he was staying on and it was no surprise to see him stepped up to 10f after that. 

He has run OK over that trip since, but it looks as though his talented trainer, James Eustace, has decided to drop him back down to a mile and also to dispense with the cheekpieces, which definitely didn’t help last time out. 

Bill Silvers is now 5lb below his Newbury mark which will definitely help, and providing Danny Tudhope can hold his position from stall one, he should be well placed to challenge. 

Take the maximum extra places and hopefully the excellent form of the stable can get us a place, at least.

I am sticking with Theme Park who I am convinced is being campaigned with winning a race at York foremost on his agenda. 

I collected on him getting fifth place in a similar big-field handicap at this track last time where he looked like going close until seemingly running out of stamina, or fitness, close home and ultimately hanging on for a payout place. 

He is a furlong and a half down in trip here and this extended mile looks like it might well be his ideal distance, while a middle draw close to the pace should enable him to take a good position. 

Theme Park was quite an expensive purchase to join the Tinkler yard and has not yet repaid the investment, but a look through his form suggests he might not have had the rub of the green in many races, and this looks a good opportunity off a mark a pound lower than when beaten a head here last year.

This four-year-old daughter of Frankel was progressing when she signed off last season and it is possible she is very well handicapped off a rating of 75 on her reappearance here. 

Coco Royale won over just short of 12 furlongs on her final start at Yarmouth in October, looking very much a stayer when getting up close home. On that evidence, she will be well suited by stepping up a further two furlongs on Saturday. 

Fitness is unlikely to be an issue given the form of the Haggas yard and with Marquand booked to ride, I am expecting a positive showing.