TEN-TO-FOLLOW pick Cardinal Venture (4.20) has the speed to claim today's feature event at Thirsk, the six-furlong £10,000 Tote Exacta Handicap.

Ensuring that readers of our ever-popular supplement, Racing North, make a profit is never easy. However, the recent 16-1 Newmarket winner, Atlantic Quest, has helped the cause enormously and Cardinal Venture should also go off at a pretty decent starting price as he has a string of ducks to his name.

But trainer Kevin Ryan, who operates only a few miles from the course, has taken the bold decision to drop his charge down to a sprint distance, having previously stuck to seven furlongs or a mile.

Taking such risks deserves a bit of luck and Cardinal Venture has been rewarded with a superb draw in the 17 stall, more or less hard up against the favoured near-side stands' rail.

Interestingly when the selection was successful on similarly fast ground over seven furlongs at Redcar last season he had the speed to lead his field two furlongs from home.

It certainly gives me encouragement to recommend backing Cardinal Venture, albeit as an each-way wager, rather than on the nose.

Tim Easterby did us a good turn when 6-1 tip Silver Band collected yesterday's Showcase Handicap and Tim should be in the money again via On The Brink (2.10).

On the Brink came within a whisker of making a winning debut at Haydock, finishing a neck second to the more experienced Redding. There's hardly a two-year-old in the land that doesn't come at least 4-5lbs for their first run, so it's not being overly optimistic to think that Easterby's juvenile will strike at the second time of asking.

A little collusion is never a bad thing in this game and my extremely capable deputy, Richard Young, reckons Soaked (4.15) is the business at Nottingham in the Hamlet Miniatures Handicap.

Soaked only has one way of running - flat out from the gate - establish a clear lead, and then try to hang on when the fuel gauge nears zero as the winning post comes into view.

High numbers normally hold the call in sprints at Hamilton, a factor very much pointing in the direction of Prix Star (2.00) in the opening six-furlong dash.

Emerging from berth number 14, Keith Dalgleish will likely glue himself and partner to the far rail, seemingly always a massive advantage at the Scottish venue.

Back in his homeland virtually anything Dalgleish sits on has a chance so it'll be no surprise if he bags three further winners aboard The Bonus King (3.05), Olivia Rose (4.05), and Beamish Prince (4.35), all of whom hail from Mark Johnston's in-form stable.

Johnston's good day should not end there either, because he sends the talented duo Fashionable Man (2.15) and Love Everlasting (2.45) to contest a couple of the supporting races to the "Lockinge" at Newbury.

Fashionable Man, a great big, long-striding son of the USA-based sire Unbridled, appears well-in despite having to hump top weight in the TFM Handicap, while Love Everlasting hardly ever seems to run a bad race.

* Henry Cecil is sensing a return to the Classic arena despite seeing one of his candidates for the Vodafone Oaks, Protectress, beaten into second on her return at Newbury yesterday.

Protectress was quoted as low as 10-1 for the Epsom Classic after staying on stoutly to finish a length and a quarter behind Geoff Wragg's progressive Monturani in the Swettenham Stud Fillies' Trial Stakes over a mile and two furlongs.

The winner is not engaged at Epsom, but that did not deter Cecil, who maintained that the best is yet to come from Protectress and revealed that Java, whose reputation was dented with her defeat on her debut, is back in Classic contention.

''Protectress has taken a long time to come to herself and I had to give her a race to get the adrenaline going,'' said Cecil. ''She was a bit fresh and free and whether she is an Oaks or Ribblesdale filly we'll have to wait and see.

''If there'd been another furlong today she might have won. I'm very pleased and you haven't seen the best of her yet.''

Ladbrokes produced the most flattering Epsom quote for Protectress, trimming her from 12-1 to 10-1, while Paddy Power, at 14-1, are biggest about the daughter of Hector Protector.