Saturday ante-post tips: 12-1 chance looks overpriced at York

A typically competitive card looks in store at York on Saturday afternoon and they don’t come much more difficult than the second race on the card at 2.25, the Sky Bet Supporting Macmillan Handicap.

There are plenty in with a chance in the seven-furlong contest and it looks worth having a couple of darts at the race, firstly with the William Haggas-trained three-year-old EXTREMELY ZAIN, who is two from two and was last seen defying a penalty to win at Newbury over this trip.

The unexposed son of Hello Youmzain has an entry in the Sussex Stakes and was a seven-length winner on debut last December, so is clearly highly regarded by his powerful connections.

Then, when racing on turf for the first time last month, he responded well to Cieren Fallon’s urgings to score by a neck over a subsequent winner. Things did not all go to plan in that race either, having failed to get a clear run approaching the two pole, and he hung slightly left-handed in the final half-furlong, yet still managed to win.

Rated 93, he should have learnt plenty from that and is a strong stayer at this trip. Out of a full-sister to multiple Group One heroine Lush Lashes, he looks worth siding with at 6-1 in receipt of 10lb weight-for-age allowance.

Another in with a chance at a bigger price is the Ian Williams-trained AALTO. With 23 races under his belt, he is vastly more experienced than Extremely Zain, and is twice his age too, but is too well-handicapped to ignore.

Rated 87, he is 5lb below the mark he ran off when getting to within a nose of subsequent Hungerford Stakes winner and Lockinge runner-up More Thunder when second in the Bunbury Cup back in July.

Encouragingly, his best effort since that second at Newmarket came at this track when seventh (beaten just three lengths with no luck in running) in the Clipper Handicap over a mile and the Ebor meeting.

There is a chance his main target is the Bunbury Cup again, but he wasn’t beaten that far in the Victoria Cup on his reappearance last month and he took a massive step forward from his first run of the season last year.

Beaten just a length and half in this race off 1lb higher two years’ ago, he has solid each-way claims providing the train stays away from the Knavesmire, and currently has Ryan Moore booked to ride.

The Churchill Tyres Supporting Macmillan Sprint Handicap due off at 3.35 on the same card is another difficult puzzle and the draw is likely to have some bearing on the result.

One horse that has leading claims and looks worthy of backing at his current odds of 7-1, however, is the Charlie Appleby-trained MAN OF VISION.

The three-year-old gelding is by Dubawi and out of Summer Romance, who finished second twice at Group One level, and won both the Group Two Balanchine and Group Three Princess Elizabeth Stakes for the yard.

Man Of Vision is not in the same league as his parents but he is a talented performer and still looks well-treated off a mark of 90.

He gave the now 100-rated Commander's Intent a race on debut last year and after following that up with a solid fifth at Newmarket, he was gelded. That seems to have worked the oracle with this grey.

He looked a handful at times in those two starts last season, getting significantly worked up in the stalls, but was much more professional at Wolverhampton in December when scoring by four lengths.

Stepped down to six furlongs at Newmarket's Guineas Festival last time on handicap debut, he finished second - a career best and the first time he had encountered a fast surface. The one niggle is that the yard are not in top form, but they weren't in form last month either, and he still came within a neck of victory.

If he brings his A-game, he could prove the class act here.

back EXTREMELY ZAIN at 6-1 with with Ladbrokes, Coral, bet365.

back AALTO at 12-1 each-way with Ladbrokes, Coral, bet365.

back MAN OF VISION at 7-1 with Ladbroke, Coral, William Hill.