Return Of The Mac

Quick N Quirky could never land a blow on Thursday for us and ended up down in 8th place. She was only 5L behind the winner, and she didn't have a whole lot of room to make her effort, so she looks capable of being placed at least of her current mark. Today is Ebor Day, and this is a handicap that has been good to me down the years. I managed to find Litigant last year, and this year's renewal looks as open as anything. If you want to find out what I fancy in the Gimcrack at 3.25 I have written an in depth preview for Bettingtools which you can read by clicking here.

The one I like at a price this year is Fun Mac, a 5yo gelding in the care  of shrewd trainer Hughie Morrison. Morrison runs two in the race, and his other entry Vent De Force is no forlorn hope either. However, I prefer the chances of Fun Mac, though he will have to step up markedly on what he has shown so far this season.

Last year he started off in superb form, hacking up in a handicap over today's trip of 14f by 11L at Salisbury off 84. The handicapper, unsurprisingly, took a dim view of that emphatic win and raised the son of Shirocco to a mark of 94.

On his next start off his new mark he ran an absolute cracker in the Ascot Stakes (20f gd/fm), going down by half a length to Clondaw Warrior. He was conceding 7lb to that rival, and Clondaw Warrior has since gone on to show just how good an effort that was by winning next time out off 96, and he looks like heading for the Melbourne Cup this season.

Fun Mac has since showed that that run was no fluke, and he was an excellent second to The Twisler in a listed heat at Goodwood (14f soft)on his next start (conceding 12lb). He then ran an absolute cracker in the Group 2 Doncaster Cup, finishing 4th behind Pallasator and beaten just over 2L. The Group 1 Prix Du Cadran was next on the list, and he again ran a huge race (20f gd) to finish third, beaten 4L.

He was likely over the top for his final run last season, again in Group 1 comapany at Saint Cloud, when he trailed in a well beaten 8th. He has been well below par on three runs so far this season, but he showed signs of life last time out at Goodwood (14f gd/fm). That was his first start in handicap company since he ran Clondaw Warrior so close, and though he was beaten 9L by Elidor, he stayed on pretty well in the closing stages off his mark of 103.

Charlie Bennett takes the ride today and his 5lb claim could prove to be invaluable. He has ridden plenty of winners (19 to be exact) for Morrison, and if you take his claim into consideration it means Fun Mac is effectively running off 98. That is the same mark off which he ran so well behind Clondaw Warrior, so he has shown that he can be competitive off this sort of rating.

I am hoping that he comes on for his first three runs of the season, and he definitely won't mind the drop of rain that has fallen overnight. If he can reproduce the form he showed in the Doncaster Cup last season he won't be far away, and at odds of 33/1 he is the each way suggestion in a wide open looking handicap.

STEVOS' SELECTION: 4.00 YORK-FUN MAC E/W 33/1