Antepost Racing Tips: Three to play at York on Saturday from 6/1 to 12/1

Saturday, York, 13:50, Queen Mother's Cup Handicap Tip: Back Clansman EW @ 12/113.00

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Clansman

• J: Miss Pippa Brown
• T: Liam Bailey
• F: 50-321331

The best of a rather underwhelming weekend of action from an antepost slant is the York card, but by the looks of the weather forecast, quick and fast ground horses should forget it, as rain is predicted every single day this week.

The Queen Mother's Cup Handicap is a niche race in the year, and always a good one on York's big charity afternoon and it's not a surprise to see Serena Brotherton on a market leader for a contest where the winning rider gets her weight in champagne. Brotherton has got quite affinity with the contest with four wins, the last in 2024 and the first in 1999.

And she also has the lot in the champagne stakes.

Her mount Master Vintner trained by Ralph Beckett is short enough at 7/42.75 but is unexposed and acts in heavy so is obvious, perhaps too obvious?

While Brotherton is far from busy these days in the saddle in her mid-50s, there's always a but of a rider tax to pay for price when she rides and I tend to avoid. The crack men's amateur rider Simon Walker was often described as a "cash machine on legs" in the gentlemens' version, and yet a quick search on the data regarding his mounts suggested he was anything but, and was about minus 200 points to level stakes.

There's an angle into this race with Clansman at 12/113.00 for an each-way bet as he stays well and acts in heavy and if anything or anyone is going to run well with grudging determination and stamina, it is him.

As an eight-year-old, there isn't exactly a stack of improvement left in him, and the profile of the favourite is a lot more obvious, but Clansman is a straightforward customer who usually races from the front so there will be no tactical guesses and the hope is the race looks as though it could cut up with the potential for soft conditions.

Liam Bailey has had a couple of winners in the last two weeks, and one of those is Say What You See, who is also entered here with a jockey booking.

But Clansman has Pippa Brown, a rider versed in jumps too, with a 16% strike-rate riding four-year-olds and older on the turf with a record of 4-25 in five years, and three seconds, three thirds and three fourths.

Take that, Simon Walker.

Saturday, York, 14:25, Supporting Macmillan Handicap Tip: Back Milford EW @ 16/117.00

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Milford

• J:
• T: Julie Camacho
• F: 3220074-6

Twelve months ago, Milford was running in the Shergar Cup with a second spot off a mark of 93 and followed up by running in one of the big handicaps at York in August but didn't fire.

In fact, 2025 was a rotten year for a horse who promised quite a bit as a juvenile only for him to lose his way a little. I suspect his starting mark of 95 at the beginning of last term was just too much of an ask in some strong races.

I actually quite fancied him for his first run of the season at Thirsk in May - running again in a Class 2, but as a first outing since a wind op, it looked as though it was needed. While he finished sixth and ran on a little, it was a race with nothing to get excited about, but also there was nothing there to put him on the carousel of shame.

It was good ground at Thirsk, so with the rain we can expect a little better for Saturday, likewise the 7f as it could suit him rather than competing against the quicker 6f beasts.

Taking a positive from his Doncaster run last November in heavy, he lost out in fourth to the 99-rated Golden Mind, who was over on the far rail with Milford in the "wrong group" and also might have paid for his move to come down the centre.

We could be relying on the draw, but he usually races up with the pace and will relish any of the rain knocking around in the north this week.

Saturday, York, 15:35, Churchill Tyres Supporting Macmillan Sprint Handicap Tip: Back Cape Ashzuri @ 6/17.00

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Cape Ashizuri (Ire)

• J: Jason Hart
• T: John & Sean Quinn
• F: 152-1

I have been banging on about Charlie Appleby's lack of runners and success this term with just 14 turf winners all season and just two juveniles sent out from his Newmarket base.

You have to ask the question 'what has happened?'

There is a runner at York, however, with Man Of Vision in the 15:35 in the famous blue livery, but the head honcho is just 1-10 in the past weeks at 10%. Those are not numbers you normally attribute to Godolphin.

Man Of Vision is 5/16.00 and instead I am going with Cape Ashizuri, who I suspect has been targeted for this race since winning at Pontefract.

The Ponty win was back in April under Jason Hart and it was a solid victory, beating a couple of Obaid horses.

It was a good strong pace with a finishing speed of 97% and he was fairly suited to grinding it out on quicker ground, but there shouldn't be a problem with softer conditions as he scored in good to soft at Ayr on his debut as a juvenile last term.

Again, his best was at the end and he was the only runner to record a time in the slow ground at the final furlong of under 14 seconds (almost half a second faster than the runner-up).

He finishes strongly and considering he raced in a Group 2 as a juvenile, a mark of 92 looks there for the taking and a big field at pace will suit him. Let's hope he gets a decent draw as John and Sean Quinn need a winner, as at the time of writing they have been a little quiet and are without a win in their last 16 runners.

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