GIVEN that Tim Easterby's horses are in such fine fettle at present, he could well be the trainer to follow at Ayr's three-day Western Meeting.

Easterby is sending quite a sizeable raiding party north of the border including Artie (2.45) and Style Dancer (5.15), both fancied to oblige in their respective races.

Artie, who gets the ball rolling in the five-furlong Tote Handicap, is to all intents and purposes on a recovery mission, having failed to land a massive gamble in the Great St Wilfrid at Ripon last month.

It's not always a wise policy to make excuses, however, since all of the action involved those drawn low. Artie might as well have stayed at home as try to win from his allotted berth in stall 15.

The Easterby camp are not known for flushing their money down the pan and if the big hitters return in an attempt to recoup losses then Artie should not be missed.

The nine-year-old Style Dancer generally pays for his keep by winning at least once a season and seeing as the autumn is often his time of year, victory in the closing Amateur Riders Handicap is very much on the agenda.

Style Dancer ran with credit in rather a messy event at York recently when he didn't really get the strong early gallop so necessary to produce his best form. This afternoon he has the services of the excellent Annie Elsey on board, plus an extra furlong to travel, both of which should theoretically help him get his head back in front.

The early cash for David Barron's colt Raccoon proved spot-on at Sandown yesterday and I wouldn't be surprised if the same scenario is repeated at Pontefract with Blonde Streak (4.35).

Barron's late-maturing three-year-old has won two of her four starts to date, but that superb 50 per cent strike-rate could have been even better had she not encountered severe traffic problems when a close third at Thirsk last time out.

The preceding £10,000 Phil Bull Trophy appears to be a straight match between Harlestone Grey and Random Quest.

According to the official ratings, the former is nearly a stone superior and therefore technically has many lengths in hand over Random Quest (4.05). Such stats are all well and good, but unfortunately for supporters of Kevin Darley's mount, Harlestone Grey ran like a drain when tailed off at Goodwood in August.

In direct contrast, Random Quest put in a very solid effort when fifth over an inadequate trip of 14 furlongs at Haydock recently. He's also going to be favoured by the step up to two-miles-and-two-furlongs, so all-in-all Paul Cole's raider is expected to overturn the likely market leader Harlestone Grey.

Hardly a season goes by without Alan Jarvis producing at least one decent juvenile and this year is no exception with the emergence of Yarmouth-bound Wanchai Lad (3.25).

Wanchai Lad, unbeaten after successive victories at Ripon and Redcar, has a hat-trick in his sights by lining up for the six-furlong betfair.com Conditions Stakes.

* Ripon racecourse has introduced a new race meeting to make sure its season ends with a bang. The fixture will take place on Saturday, September 27, with the first race starting at 2.30.

Clerk of the course, James Hutchinson, said: "The new fixture means our season is extended and we hope the final day's racing at the end of September will really finish the 2003 season off perfectly.