ONE COOL CAT bids to help redeem a desperately disappointing season for top Irish trainer Aidan O'Brien by taking this afternoon's £200,000 Nunthorpe Stakes on the final day of York's Ebor meeting.

With the enviable amount of firepower at O'Brien's disposal he would expect to feature prominently in the majority of European Group 1 races, but that has not been the case this year, with big race success few and far between.

Things began badly for Aidan when One Cool Cat, hot-favourite for the English 2,000 Guineas in May, trailed home in next to last place. In the aftermath of that disaster there were even rumours the star colt was about to be retired, prior to his return to form when landing the six-furlong Group 3 Phoenix Stakes at the Curragh 11 days ago.

With his confidence restored, the only question to answer is will he be equally effective over the minimum trip of five-furlongs in the Nunthorpe? On fast ground maybe not, however the rain-sodden turf should theoretically slow down the really quick horses and allow One Cool Cat (3.20) to improve O'Brien's dire tally of just one Group 1 win so far in 2004.

The awful weather of late is also unquestionably to the advantage of St Petersburg (3.55) in the Persimmon Homes Handicap.

The Mark Tompkins-trained powerhouse has twice shown his liking for a soft surface, once much earlier in the season at Pontefract, plus last time out over course and distance when wearing down a useful-looking field with a gutsy display over the final couple of furlongs.

In addition the mud-loving four-year-old also has the assistance of the master tactician, Philip Robinson, a genius at getting the "fractions" right and pacing his races to perfection.

For the earlier Lowther Stakes, Robinson has another prime mount, Suez (3.20), this time for his guv'nor, Michael Jarvis, in the valuable Group 2 fillies' contest.

Jarvis has been extremely upbeat about his two-year-olds' prospects since her scintillating debut at Glorious Goodwood, where she put daylight between herself and nearest pursuer, Clear Impression, with embarrassing ease.

"I was quite impressed with Suez at Goodwood and she's done everything right over the past couple of weeks," revealed Jarvis, seeking compensation after having to withdraw his stable-star, Rakti, due to the testing underfoot conditions a little earlier in the week.

In view of the fiercely competitive nature of the sport at York, it seems prudent to fish in slightly less shark-infested waters for the nap selection and side with Dispol Veleta (4.20) at Southwell.

Dispol Veleta has already kicked sand in the faces of her rivals at the all-weather track on one occasion this term, and with the assistance of the talented apprentice Philip Makin has every chance of doing so again.

Get more on racing at our Racing North site.