MARK JOHNSTON'S motto 'Always Trying' has never been more evident than today when the Middleham trainer lines up five horses in an attempt to scoop Glorious Goodwood's £150,000 totesport Mile.

Johnston has made no secret of the fact that prize-money is the name of the game as far as he's concerned, and in throwing so many darts at the board the former vet-turned-trainer is clearly hoping one will hit bullseye.

It's impossible to discount any of his quintet, but a choice must be made and Elliots World (3.25) gets my vote, with Nero's Return fancied to do best of the rest.

Elliots World, twice a winner over seven furlongs last year, has been most consistent between a mile and a mile-and-a-quarter this season without ever quite managing to get his head back in front.

But that's not to say his turn isn't near as the three-year-old ran an absolute corker when third on his latest outing at Newmarket earlier on this month.

The form of that ten-furlong affair has worked out exceptionally well - the fourth home, Pevensey, plus sixth to finish, Foxhaven, each bagging big prizes during the past few days.

The return to a shorter distance should also suit Elliots World, who is almost certain to be in the front rank throughout, with jockey John Egan going for broke once the winning post comes into view.

Slow learner Mutawajid (4.00) finally got the hang of things when getting off the mark at the third time of asking in a warmish Newmarket maiden.

Richard Hannon's powerhouse possesses bags of physical scope and although he would prefer if the six-furlong Group 2 Richmond Stakes were over a longer distance, the testing ground will at least have the effect of hindering his other five rivals.

At first glance Tesary's (2.50) task appears utterly hopeless in the Group 3 Oak Tree Stakes, because she's taking on a handful of much higher-rated opponents.

Maybe I'm being a shade optimistic, but major upsets occasionally occur in fillies' and mares only events, so an each-way bet on the mud-loving Tesary, who showed significant improvement to collect at Salisbury recently, is thoroughly recommended.

Nearer to home at Thirsk there are stacks of runners to filter through in order to sort out the wheat from the chaff.

It's been a pucker horses for course venue over the years, bringing in Efidium (3.00) for the seven-furlong Weatherbys Bank Handicap.

Neville Bycroft's gelding put in a rare stinker at Redcar recently, however that was simply too bad to be true and with the huge advantage of stall one must enter calculations at track where he's won before.

Tim Easterby's stable continues to reward loyal supporters, consequently a small investment on Wolds Dancer (4.45) shouldn't go amiss.

She was all over the shop and as green as grass when third at Carlisle, nonetheless there was at least some measure of resolution to way she stayed on in the closing stages of that contest.

Easterby has wasted no time at all in whacking the three-year-old up another couple of furlongs, which should theoretically help her stamina come into play at the business end of the Warwick Drier Fillies Handicap.

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