TODAY’S TIPS

RACE 1

HE’S A GENTLEMAN displayed plenty of promise on his debut at Ascot on soft ground and the £105,000 purchase gets the vote to shed his maiden tag at the second time of asking. Atomic Lady has been knocking on the door on her two outings and demands respect with a 5lb allowance now opposing the colts, while Hello Jumbo is a half-brother to the classy sprinter Major Jumbo and warrants interest on debut.

WIN: HE’S A GENTLEMAN DANGER: HELLO JUMBO

RACE 2

ARIEL despatched his rivals relatively cosily at Kempton on his previous outing and it would be somewhat of a surprise if a 4lb rise prevents him from recording successive victories should we see a similar level of form. Despite not completely sticking his neck out, the Exceed And Excel colt finished with purpose to stretch clear down the outside and he’s preferred to Salsoul, who could be able to capitalise on a workable mark after being dropped 4lb for a lacklustre reappearance run at Chester. The Sedberghian has been tough to keep out of the frame on all three of his starts and he can sneak minor moneyif returning from a breakwith a similar attitude.

WIN: ARIEL DANGER: SALSOUL

RACE 3

TEES SPIRIT came agonizingly close to supplementing his C&D victory at Doncaster and, despite a further 4lb rise in the ratings, he looks the one to beat in this contest.There are a fewpotential dangers, however, including David O’Meara’s handicap debutant General Sago and the top-rated The Thin Blue Line, who was successful on the all-weather at Newcastle when last running in Class 5 company.

WIN: TEES SPIRIT DANGER: GENERAL SAGO

RACE 4

Tim Easterby looks to have a couple of excellent chances here with Flying Pursuit, who won a Class 4 handicap over C&D last month, and BOSSIPOP. David Allan has seemingly opted to ride the latter, who made virtually all over 5f at Pontefract last Friday, and he could prove tough to beat under a 4lb penalty. Treacherous also warrants respect after running a blinder at Ascot last time.

WIN: BOSSIPOP DANGER: FLYING PURSUIT

RACE 5

In an open race the marginal preference is for STONIFIC, who put in a promising displaywhen finishing sixth in a competitive contest atYork on his return to action 11 days ago. Justified failed to fire at Lingfield last time but is a player based on his previous victory at Chelmsford. Contrebasse is arguably the pick of the remainder, while Stormin Norman completes the shortlist.

WIN: STONIFIC DANGER: JUSTIFIED

RACE 6

This can go the way of BABINDI, who was an unlucky loser on her return at Newmarket before going under by a length at the line. The step up in trip is an unknown quantity for the daughter of Frankel but trainer William Haggas obviously thinks she will stay, and if she does then she ought to come home in front. Barn Owl lost a shoe and can be forgiven his fifth over the mile at Lingfield and has also had a breathing operation since, and he could show plenty of improvement now, yet Harlem Soul could be the main danger to the selection with this better ground likely to suit after a below-par effort on heavy going at Newmarket.

WIN: BABINDI DANGER: HARLEM SOUL

RACE 7

The more rain the better for Thirsk winner Lucky Beggar who strolled home that day by three lengths but with drying conditions expected he may not get the ground he needs to be seen at his best. HARROGATE seems to handle pretty much any going and won here in May before a solid third at Catterick on heavy ground. He has won off far higher marks in the past and on much faster going and will Billy Garritty keeping the ride, he could make it win number five this evening. Sam’s Call is one to watch on his return from 20 months off for Michael Easterby, but does drop in class and has been gelded since last seen in action. WIN: HARROGATE DANGER: LUCKY BEGGAR

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7 PEPPER LANE (27)

Ch m Exceed And Excel (AUS) - Maid To Matter Owner: Mrs Lynne Lumley & Mr K Nicholson Trainer: David O’Meara, Nawton Sponsor: Conor J.C. Parsons & Brian M. Parsons

5 8 9 (6)

Jockey: Graham Gibbons

Form: 600100 C Breeder:D. J. Lumley (Builders)

TIMEFORM VIEW Bounced right back to best when landing Great St Wilfred for successive year running in August. No excuses in York Listed race last time and hasn’t stayed on previous tries over 7f. Star RatingHHHHH Official BHA Rating 99

11 12 13 14 15 16 17

1 Owner’s Colours (illustration) 2 Saddle Cloth Number 3 Name of Horse 4 Sire 5 Birthplace of Horse (if not GB) 6 No. of Days since last ran 7 Dam 8 Age 9 Weight (st lbs) 10 Draw 11 Form Guide 12 Owner 13 Trainer & location of training establishment 14 Breeder 15 Sponsor (If relevant) 16 Form / = New Season - = New Year

Bold type shows all weather form

C = Course Winner

D = Distance Winner

CD = Course & Distance Winner

BF = Beaten Favourite 17 Jockey

STAR RATING EXPLAINED

Each horse has been given a star rating, these are defined below: HHHHH Selected to win the race. HHHHI Good chance of being placed. HHHII By no means out of the reckoning but at least one or two hold stronger claims HHIII Unlikely to win but not totally without hope. HIIII Can be given little or no chance.

OFFICIAL BHA RATING

The BHA Handicappers allot ratings to horses once they have taken part in a sufficient number of races to enable the Handicappers to make a numerical assessment of each horse’s ability.

The principal purpose of the ratings is to determine the weight to be carried by each runner in handicap races, with the Handicappers aiming to provide each participant with an equal chance based on its best recent form under its optimum conditions. A horse rated 100, for example, would be set to carry 1lb more than a horse rated 99 (ignoring any penalties or allowances).

The ratings published in the racecard for handicap races are the ratings that were used to calculate the weight to be carried by each horse, whilst in non-handicaps races the rating shown is that of each runner at the time that the entries for the race were confirmed. Any subsequently published change to a rating, either up or down, is shown in brackets following the rating.

THURSDAY 27TH MAY 2021

IT WAS FANTASTIC TO WELCOME BACK RACEGOERS FOR LAST WEEK’S MEETING AND THEY WERE TREATED TO SOME EXHILARATING ACTION ON THE TRACK, AS THE TRAINER AND JOCKEY COMBINATION OF TIM EASTERBY AND DAVID ALLAN TEAMED UP FOR A DOUBLE ON THE SEVEN-RACE CARD.

Easterby and Allan actually brought up their double in the feature race of the afternoon, the Ripon Cathedral Handicap, as Fishable recorded his third success over course and distance. The gelding had won back-to-back races here last season and enjoyed the return to Yorkshire’s Garden Racecourse as he showed a good attitude to get back to winning ways. David Allan had set out to make all onboard the four-year-old but Fishable raced keenly and looked vulnerable as Scottish Summit travelled into contention over a furlong out. However, Fishable had beaten Scottish Summit in his previous two victories here and he battled back to come out on top again by half a length. The first winner on the card for Easterby and Allan had come in the Titanium Racing Club Handicap, with Wildcitydiva also putting up a tough performance as she rallied for success having been headed. The filly had been tried over longer distances in her two previous runs of the season and she enjoyed the drop back in trip to get off the mark this time around. She was ridden to take the lead over two furlongs from home but dug deep when the favourite Wholelotafun got past her, finding plenty in reserve to win going away by a length and a quarter in the end. There was also a double on the afternoon for apprentice jockey Mark Crehan and he showed his skills in the saddle with a well-judged ride from the front onboard Thornaby Pearl in the Visit ripon-races.co.uk Handicap. Thornaby Pearl was improving on his third-place finish at Pontefract the previous month and Crehan made a quick start with the three-year-old track across from his draw in stall four. He was then not catching after kicking for home two furlongs out, going on to score by a length and a quarter. Crehan brought up his second win of the day with Arthur’s Realm in the Follow @RiponRaces On Twitter Novice Stakes, this time having to employ opposite tactics after his mount was slowly away. However, Crehan did not panic and took his time with the three-year-old, timing his challenge to hit the front inside the final furlong before just holding off Broomy Law by a neck with the pair well clear of the rest of the field. Earlier on the card, Furzig was a stylish winner of the Sky Sports Racing 415 Handicap under a confident ride by Paul Hanagan. Trained by Richard Fahey, Furzig had been in good form on the all-weather over the winter and and built on his third-place finish at Thirsk earlier in the month to gain his second success on turf. The six-year-old was held up at the rear of the field by Hanagan but could be spotted travelling strongly and he quickened up nicely to go from last to first, keeping on well to win by three quarters of a length. The opening race of the day, the British Stallion Studs EBF Fillies’ Novice Stakes, also saw an impressive victory as Jersey Rose won by three and a half lengths on her second racecourse start for David O’Meara. She stepped up on her debut at Thirsk over an extra furlong here, always up with the pace under David Nolan before powering away for a comfortable victory. There was a thrilling finish to the finale as Van Gerwen bounced back to form to win the Skelton Handicap by a neck for Paul Midgley. The eight-year-old’s last win had came over course and distance last summer and he got his head back in front again in determined fashion, getting the better of dual to the line with Refuge. The pair went head-to-head in the final furlong and it was Van Gerwen who found extra for Ben Robinson to narrowly get the verdict, with only another neck back to the favourite Quanah in third.