TIM EASTERBY goes pot hunting down south to Newbury this afternoon where he has a great chance of scooping the £10,000 Showcase Handicap with Silver Band (3.20).

Silver Band landed a nice little touch for the Great Habton team on her seasonal reappearance at Thirsk when backed from 6's to 4-1. With so much money flying about in the betting ring the filly had obviously been sparkling on the home gallops and sure enough she did the business with a cosy one-length success.

It has to be said that today's six furlong race is a much stronger affair, but the daughter of Zilzal is clearly a progressive individual and according to my speed figures comes out clear of her rivals.

The following Swettenham Stud Fillies' Stakes may well shed some more light on the Epsom Oaks' picture with the comeback of Henry Cecil's much-heralded unbeaten three-year-old, Protectress (3.50).

Having conferred with my sources at Newmarket, Cecil's potential star is apparently just beginning to bloom and the ten-times former champion is now understandably keen to get a prep run into her prior to the Oaks in early June.

There could be some value siding with Nottingham raider Loyal Tycoon (2.35), who is admirably suited by the way the weights are framed in the Wollaton Park Classified Stakes.

It's a contest restricted to those horses rated 0-70, and since Loyal Tycoon is currently on a mark of 70 he couldn't be better in.

He also ran an absolute corker when fourth in hotly-contested sprint to Grey Cossack at Pontefract last month.

In the later division 2 of the "We Are Racing Tomorrow" Handicap, another recent Pontefract scorer, Northside Lodge (5.10), appears to be the proverbial "good thing".

Northside Lodge won as he liked at the west Yorkshire venue last time out, however in a remarkable act of largesse the Peter Harris-trained gelding was only raised 3lbs by the Official Handicapper for the effortless win.

Beverley's bookies took a right pasting when Laurel Dawn (6.30) landed some massive bets last Saturday and it could well be a similar story at Hamilton this evening when Alan Berry's in-form sprinter turns out for the opening Apprentices Handicap over five furlongs.

The only negative on the horizon is the prevailing softish surface at the Scottish track, which is not 100 per cent certain to suit. Nonetheless if as predicted the sunny weather continues, the ground may well dry up just in time for Laurel Dawn to complete a well-deserved hat-trick.

Best bet over the sticks at Aintree's interesting fixture is Chris Grant's Sea Mark (6.50), who should strip much fitter after a couple of recent spins on the level.

* Dupont, winner of the Italian 2000 Guineas, bids for a second classic success when he lines-up for the German equivalent, the Mehl Mulhens Rennen, in Cologne on Monday.

Willie Haggas's colt got up on the line in Rome to defeat Fisich by a nose and he will again be ridden by Darryll Holland.

A second British raider in the German feature is the Chris Wall-trained Ashdown Express, the mount of George Duffield.

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