RED EMERALD (2.30) can get punters off to a gem of a start by taking the five-furlong opener at Thirsk this afternoon.

The David Evans-trained two-year-old has to make the long journey up from Wales, but her travels should not be in vain given the evidence of a gutsy three-quarter-length success at Folkestone ten days ago.

Using the clock as a guide, that effort represented a significant step up on her debut run, which, combined with the fact we know Red Emerald acts on the prevailing easy ground, it makes her a leading contender for the £10,000 Carpenters Arms Novice Fillies Stakes.

Another individual likely to enjoy the testing underfoot conditions is River Falcon (4.40), who looks extremely well in at the weights for the Cyril Greenland Classified Stakes.

Jim Goldie's sprinter made eye-catching late headway under a tender ride on his return at Musselburgh, an encouraging outing which should have put him spot-on for today's cavalry charge.

Backers looking for dangers to River Falcon should consider having a saver on the Middleham-trained, Million Percent. Karl Burke's speedster is more-than-useful on his day, plus has the advantage of being fit from a spell on the all-weather circuit.

The Scottish Grand National meeting gets underway at Ayr with the two-mile West Sound Novices' Hurdle.

Since a pitifully small number of runners line up for the £20,000 prize, Howard Johnson's unbeaten gelding, Coat Of Honour (2.20), is likely to go off at pretty cramped odds in the two-mile affair.

Even though Johnson's raider has been sidelined for nearly four months, the stable's horses remain in excellent heart and it will be a major shock if his colours are lowered for the first time.

The near three-and-a-half-mile Royal Scots Dragoon Guards Handicap Chase is going to be some kind of slog, nevertheless when stamina is at a premium, Devil's Run (5.00) can be relied upon to keep galloping all the way to the line.

As a result of a money-spinning campaign John Wade's stayer has shot alarmingly up the weights, but Devil's Run comes out well on most sets of ratings and therefore an each-way bet is advised.

Finally to Newbury where Baltic King (3.15) bids to take the feature race on the card, the Dubai Duty Free Handicap.

Hughie Morrison's entire beat off 23 rivals to claim the valuable Hong Kong Jockey Club Handicap at Ascot last season, a performance that confirmed the opinion that he is only marginally short of a Group class sprinter.

* Rain-lashed Ripon survived a half-inch of rainfall yesterday, although at one stage it looked like the meeting might be abandoned as the official going dramatically turned from good to soft, to heavy, within the space of an hour.

One horse totally unaffected by the muddy underfoot conditions was Secret History, the 15-length winner of the most valuable race on the card, the £14,000 Cock 'O' The North Handicap.

Joe Fanning had Secret History up with the pace throughout, and once he asked the three-year-old to quicken it soon become apparent the pair were going to collect by a wide margin, passing the post in splendid isolation.

"She's a really sweet filly, easy to train and I wish they were all like her," declared a delighted Deirdre Johnson, who was doing the honours while husband Mark attended to the stable's runners at Newmarket's Craven fixture.

Earlier on in proceedings, Paul Blockley's Overstayed streaked clear in the style of a potentially useful youngster to take the opening EBF Sharow Maiden Stakes.

Fergal Lynch had his mount out of the stalls like greased lightning, claiming the favoured near side rail before any of his eight rivals had so much as a sniff of racing on the fastest available strip of ground.

Fergal had the luxury of taking a long look over his shoulder with 100 yards to travel, and to his astonishment he realised Overstayed was miles clear.

At this point he sensibly eased the speedy juvenile down to a near walk as the combination approached the winning line.

"He went down to the start nicely, plus really liked this soft ground," reported a startled Lynch, clearly surprised how easily Overstayed had won the five-furlong event.

There was a thrilling climax to the six-furlong Chequers Inn Handicap when Ed Dunlop's Tesary mugged Mafaheem right on the wire.

Despite not having run for 209 days, Tesary appeared to be as fit as butcher's dog in the paddock beforehand. That opinion was vindicated in the contest proper, the manner of her victory giving the strong impression that she will almost certainly stay at least seven furlongs, or even one-mile in time.

Things didn't go according to the pre-race script when the odds-on favourite, St Andrews, failed to hold 66-1 outsider, Jath, in the Silver Bowl Conditions Stakes.

Philip Robinson appeared to have matters well in hand by cruising into the lead aboard St Andrews over a furlong out, but fellow rider Neil Callan had other ideas, producing a stirring late rally to snatch the spoils aboard Jath.

For the second year in succession, Richard Whitaker picked up the closing Newby Apprentices' Handicap with his consistent five-year-old gelding, Mynd.

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