Martin Dixon's Saturday tips: 16-1 nap of the day at York

David O'Meara has been the go-to trainer for these big-field handicaps for several seasons, and Akkadian Thunder can easily be forgiven his latest run in the bet365 Bunbury Cup when he was poorly positioned, and the track probably didn't play to his strengths. 

He was an excellent second in the Buckingham Palace Stakes over this C&D in June, and I expect he'll return to that best form returning to Ascot on Saturday. Daniel Tudhope is always an asset in the saddle in these contests, and I think, from stall 20, there's a chance he'll be on the right part of the track, with likely front-runner Noble Truth drawn next to him. 

Low to middle draws have been an advantage over sprint trips at York this year, and with much of the pace in this contest among the lower numbers, I expect that to be where the race develops. That looks a big plus point for Bayraat, who was a close-up third in this contest last year, looking unfortunate to not win having endured a troubled run through. 

He’s a pound out of the weights here but is well treated on that form from last season (runs off a lower mark here) and his two runs this season, most notably his reappearance at Redcar when having to loop the field on the unfavoured part of the track, suggest he retains all of his ability.

The draw could again be significant in this big-field handicap over a mile, with low numbers often holding a significant advantage in races of this nature at the track. Billyb has an ideal berth in stall one, and the set-up of the race looks perfect for him as he tends to be best when sitting just off a strong tempo, which looks the likely scenario here. 

Nicely handicapped on the best of his form, he arrives here on the back of his best effort this season when a close third in first-time cheekpieces at Doncaster, and the return to a mile won’t be an issue off the same mark.