RILEY BOYS, sporting a first time visor, fits the bill very nicely for this afternoon's Carlisle Bell.

Always a competitive heat, this year's renewal is no exception with a maximum-allowed 17 runners going to post. Traditional wisdom implies that a high draw is helpful, in which case Riley Boys (3.20) is reasonably placed emerging from stall 11.

The four-year-old tuned up for today's £25,000 contest by chasing home Langford over an identical trip at Doncaster, excellent form which combined with the application of headgear, points to having an each-way punt on the selection.

A similar staking plan is advised for Ouninpohja (3.50), who lines up for Melsonby-based Alan Swinbank in the Cumberland Plate.

Swinbank has high aspirations for Saturday's Northumberland Plate entry, Far Pavilions, but meanwhile there's money to be made by backing Ouninpohja, effectively a winner without a penalty after a most unlucky defeat at Beverley last time out.

On that occasion the normally ultra-reliable Robert Winston got himself hemmed in at the furlong pole and even though he eventually extricated the partnership before the winning line, the first two had already flown.

Robert is not the sort of guy to make the same mistake twice, and with Swinbank's team in good order there's every prospect of Ouninpohja seeing far more daylight.

Malton handler, Noel Wilson, sends a couple of his horses down to Epsom in the hope of returning back up the M1 with the booty in the horse-box.

First on stage is Loves Travelling (8.05), an ex-Luca Cumani-trained inmate. When in Cumani's custody the gelding crept up to something approaching listed class, a level of performance he's thus far failed to reproduce for Wilson.

But all is not lost because Noel's stable has only just started to hit top gear, which allied with the fact that Loves Travelling has dropped a few pounds in the weights, plus Danny Tudhope's valuable 5lb allowance, adds up to a potential recipe for success.

The dazzling young apprentice, Tudhope, also takes the ride on Acomb (8.35), poised to complete a hat-trick having notched a brace of clear-cut wins at Thirsk and Ayr.

l Trainer Clive Cox has Friday's Gosforth Park Cup at Newcastle on his radar after Out After Dark won the feature race at Beverley.

The four-year-old registered his fourth victory in 12 months after showing a good turn of foot in the HBLB Handicap over five furlongs.

Philip Robinson had the 13-8 favourite ensconced in mid-division and switched wide to challenge as early pacesetter Magic Glade ran into trouble when Bond Boy went for an impossible gap on the rails.

Runner-up Dame De Noche was first to emerge from the scrimmaging, which resulted in Bond Boy's jockey Dean Mernagh being hit with a three-day ban, and swept into the lead at the furlong marker.

However, Out After Dark responded admirably under Robinson's urgings and still had plenty left in the tank to prevail by a neck.

''That was a really nice performance and it could be a good omen for Friday,'' said Killy Cavendish, co-owner of the Lambourn-trained winner.

''He's not a machine, but we go to Newcastle in good heart. He's in ever so good spirits and we're really happy with him.''

Barking Mad justified significant market support when Kevin Ryan's gelding cruised to a facile win in the 12-furlong Westwood Claiming Stakes.

Hambleton-based Ryan has an excellent record at Beverley and his seven-year-old (4-9 favourite) could have been called the winner from some way out after in-form jockey Neil Callan dictated a quick pace in the early stages.

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