1.55 3 Final Venture @ 11/1 / 17 Holmeswood @ 12/1 (both 1 point each way) 15 Eastern Impact @ 16/1 

(William Hill/ Ladbrokes / Coral / Paddy Power/ Bet Victor go odds to 5th place)

The biggest conundrum here will be the draw. It is usually the case that middle to low is the place to be of Good ground at York; Good to Firm can favour slightly more lower drawn and usually high come in to play on soft the heavy. We have Good bordering Good to Firm, and no sign it will get softer (other than by watering). However; if you look closely, there are races on Good To Firm, where all the pace is high and races have developed down the Stands side. 

The fact here is that pace is stacked high; led by the admirable El Astonaute, Culturati drawn in 18 and 19 and Midnight Malibu, another big danger drawn in stall 16. They will surely be a factor and have an impact, at least in the opening stages of the race, and if one of them; most likely El Astronaute pings the stalls, it could tack across to the middle. Because the pace is over on the Stands side, it just puts me off FASHION QUEEN who is drawn in Stall 1; it is probably the least exposed in the race, could be on a very lenient mark, but won't have much company, if the fast starters are all over the other side of the track.

Gracious John; Tis Marvellous and Line of Reason all have closely matched collateral form and any of those can win on a "going day" but I was left with a short list of 4, the one that does not make the selections is TOMMY TAYLOR; he will be reserve in case of non runners, Course form, nice mark, drawn in the middle, which could be ideal, my only niggle is that his best runs are on Good to Soft or Softer - hopefully the Going report is accurate!

Of my final 3 - FINAL VENTURE comes from the Yard of a Sprint Training genius, will have been aimed at this race surely, is drawn in 12 so nice and central, should get a lovely tow in to the race and with luck in running; should have every chance, I think the run here behind Mr Lupton earlier in the season, could be the best collateral form. HOLMESWOOD is something of a bridesmaid and forgotten horse, regularly in contention in these types of races and never seems to run a bad race; the booking of Silvestre De Souza catches the eye; it is a Course winner, drawn amidst the pace and with a decent passage, and S-D-S is a master of putting a horse in the right place at the right time, is seriously well handicapped and basically deserves one of these. Of the remainder, the most dangerous lurker is EASTERN IMPACT, it has had chances before off good marks but in stall 9, one final chance and no excuses as will have a lovely tow in to the race and Fahey may just have been playing for time with this one, and would not be the first to "fire in to life here on a big day for the maestro.   

York 4.15 12 Northwest Frontier @ 10/1 + 11 Here and Now @ 7/1 - 1 point each way both

(Paddy Power / Bet Victor and Skybet - odds to 4th place)

A trip of just over 2 miles and proven form at the trip and a bit of scope to improve look a vital commodity. Mancini should ensure a good pace and will take them a long way in to the race, horses can "slip the field here" it looks the most likely but I am taking it to be gobbled up at the business end. Natural Scenery and Stormin Tom could be dangers but may not have the class and scope of HERE AND NOW who has good Course and Distance form, indeed best runs here and with CD wins off 87 and 91 and lightly raced looks the one they all have to beat. If you ignore the Goodwood run of NORTHWEST FRONTIER, where it got affected in the parade and palpably failed to stay 2 and a half miles, then the previous form at this trip is very strong. They have given the horse 4 weeks to recover and having developed in the last year with wins off 73; 79 and a Course and Distance win off 86, there is no reason to think it won't run a big race, back home in Yorkshire off a mark of 90. 

York 4.50 10 Eljayeff @ 8/1 + 4 Mossayar @ 12/1 (WH) 10/1 generally. - 1 point each way both

A fiendishly difficult Nursery Handicap over 6 Furlongs. Evie Speed is favourite and will likely try to make all; has a big chance of doing so, but can't help but think the big 2 year old powerhouse yards have some improvement left in a few of theirs. Don Armando; Ginger Nut; and the possibly over-priced Jungleinthebungle were those on my short list, but I will plump for ELJAYEFF who has some very solid collateral form and has surely been laid out for this race by the Fahey team and the Hannon (notional) second string, MOSSAYAR who just strikes me as less exposed and more scopey than Ginger Nut (stablemate).  

Those are the YORK selections for today.