DEAN MCKEOWN will need to outfox his fellow riders if he's to lift Redcar's Straight Mile Championship aboard Vicious Warrior (3.15).

The wily 40-plus veteran of the weighing room is known to possess excellent tactical acumen, which will be vital in his quest to claim the brand new £20,000 Carlsberg-sponsored contest.

Having ridden Vicious Warrior on many occasions in the past McKeown is completely familiar with his old friend, who is a headstrong individual to the point of being dubbed a downright tearaway on account of his predisposition to let it rip from the second the stalls flash open.

But instead of fighting his partner, Dean may well opt to dictate matters from the front in the full knowledge that Vicious Warrior gets every inch of the eight-furlong trip.

By making the running the combination might so easily run the legs off the certain favourite Hartshead, a classic hold-up horse who probably won't want to see too much daylight until the jockeys get busy near to the finish.

Richard Whitaker, the trainer responsible for Vicious Warrior, has an outside chance of sparking a double for the yard by taking the opener with Neon Blue (1.00) in the Trans Van Hire Handicap.

Having picked up a more competitive event at York last year, Neon Blue looked set fair to be a real money-spinner for connections. However, horse racing is a sport where dreams are regularly shattered, and Neon Blue has since failed in any shape or form to build on that famous Knavesmire victory.

The four-year-old was clearly right out of sorts when stone last at Thirsk in June, prompting the Scarcroft-near-Leeds based handler to give his inmate a seven-week break in order to regroup.

For sure it's a risk investing on Neon Blue, but he's now 10lbs lower than when scoring at York, which is good news given that Whitaker has engaged the services of the underrated apprentice, Ben Swarbrick, taking a further invaluable 5lbs off the selection's back.

If ever a horse has been laid out to make the most of a step up in distance then its got to be Newmarket raider, Soulacroix (1.50).

Although Amanda Perrett's representative won over one-mile-and-a-five-furlongs at Newbury, Soulacroix's most recent four outings have rather surprisingly all been over twelve furlongs or less.

I'm not saying anyone is trying to pull the wool over the punter's eyes, nonetheless it would be utterly churlish not to avail oneself of the opportunity to back Soulacroix now that he tries two-miles for the first time in the Silks Bistro Handicap.

Those supporters of Real Cool Cat (5.00) unlucky enough to have done their dough at Ripon on Monday have been handed a quick-fire chance to get it back with interest.

Mark Johnston's rangy grey simply didn't get home over 12 furlongs at the North Yorkshire track, whereas she now switches back to a stiff mile-and-a-quarter, precisely the distance over she prevailed at Leicester the time before.

Johnston also bids to swell his bank balance at Haydock with Nero's Return (2.45) in the £80,000 totesport Stakes.

Nero's Return would have won at Glorious Goodwood if he hadn't forfeited a deal of ground when unable to go the early pace. The race was effectively over by the time he came gunning down the outside to snatch third spot, so Kevin Darley must ensure he gets the pair away on level terms in what is by far the richest race of the day. Any mugs for punishment turning to Ayr's evening fixture for the purposes of retrieving afternoon losses may do worse than roll the dice in the direction of Thorntoun Piccolo (7.00).

Jim Goldie's young sprinter ran a cracker from a desperate draw at Doncaster in June, only to flop when the money was down on his latest start over course and distance.

I reckon the soft surface was to blame and he'll be much happier with underfoot conditions reportedly significantly drier at the west of Scotland venue.

* Last year's dual 1000 Guineas winner Attraction is set to have her next run in the stanjamesuk.com Hungerford Stakes at Newbury on Saturday week.

The Mark Johnston-trained filly has had just one start this season, finishing 11th of 13 runners in the Champions Mile in Hong Kong.

''We cannot wait forever to give her a run and the Hungerford, even with her penalty, is one of the few options we have,'' the Middleham handler said.

''In the longer term we are looking at the Matron Stakes and/or the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes, and perhaps an autumn campaign as she will still be a fresh horse.''

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