Paul Mulrennan: Decent York chances keep century in sight

I don’t know where the year has gone, and sadly it’s time for the two-day season finale at York. From every single aspect - whether it be the racegoer/owner/hospitality offering to the superb equine facilities, the fine racing surface and of course the second-to-none prize money - York is the best racecourse in the country.

We’ve witnessed some fantastic action on the Knavesmire this year, with Baaeed truly spectacular in the Juddmonte International, Alpinista taking the Yorkshire Oaks prior to Prix de L’Arc de Triomphe glory and the Dante Stakes forming a significant role in the development for the Derby hero Desert Crown.

Northern Express (2.40pm) is the first of my Friday rides and has been particularly good to me this year, winning here in June. He’s the type of horse who will always give his best and is most effective at York. Obviously, this race is over 1m and he’s yet to win over this trip (6lb above his last winning mark), but he does possess a potent turn of foot which serves him well.

Julie Camacho’s Hougoumont (3.15pm) is a horse I like, and although he promises to be an even better three-year-old, I think he’s capable of running a massive race at a decent price. He did well to win in a first-time hood at Pontefract last time and looks like he’s crying out for this 7f trip. Being a valuable EBF Series Final, the competition merits respect with Streets Of Gold (4-4), Shouldvebeenaring (3-5) and Tyrone’s Poppy (3-4) all dangerous.

Project Black (5.00pm) cost 50,000 guineas as a yearling and makes his debut in the 6f novice for Bryan Smart and Bond Thoroughbreds. He’s a half-brother to three winners, including Union Rose (5f-6f) and Lady Aria (6f), who both achieved triple-figure Racing Post Ratings. We’ll see what happens and take things forward from there.

York should suit Yaaser (5.35pm), who admittedly needs to produce a career-best in the 20-runner finale. He needs a strong pace and appreciates being smuggled into his races. He’s enjoyed a fantastic season, winning four times and rising from a mark of 52 to 80, which is a testament to the training skills of Jim Goldie.

Dakota Gold is the joint winning-most horse at York and seeks a record-breaking seventh course win. He loves this time of year and is in fine fettle at home, so I’m hopeful that he’ll run a big race in the Coral Sprint Trophy (3.15pm). He’s versatile in terms of conditions and handles some dig in the ground, so he won’t be inconvenienced should the rain arrive. He’s very straightforward and, although finishing ninth of nineteen, wasn’t beaten too far in the Portland at Doncaster.

Sir Chauvelin (4.25pm) must prove that he truly stays 2m on the Flat but he’s been a warrior of a horse for Jim Goldie and Jimmy Fyffe. Nothing went right at Chester last time where the winner dictated and he found himself too far back off a slow pace.

Geremia (5.00pm) is a horse with plenty of ability who usually comes alive at York (course form figures of 3223). Ideally, a strong pace would suit as we know that he stays much further than 1m2f, so you’d envisage that he’ll be doing all his best work towards the finish. He ran well in the Cambridgeshire, finishing third in his group, and twice previously didn’t have much luck in the Racing League at Newcastle. He’s shown a decent level of ability since arriving from Marco Botti and makes each-way appeal.

The Scottish Flat season concludes at Musselburgh on Monday, where I’ll be crowned top jockey for the year, completing a notable across-the-card treble: Ayr, Hamilton, and Musselburgh. Furthermore, Racing TV presenter Gordon Brown was kind enough to let me know that I’d overtaken Kevin Darley (who retired in 2007) as the all-time leading Flat jockey at Ayr. A recent treble (22 winners in 2022) brought me onto a grand total of 121 winners at the track.

I’ll be at Newcastle (Tuesday) and then onto Nottingham (Wednesday), where the Southwell scorer Captain Corcoran should go close to winning again for the soon to be retiring Eric Alston.