WYATT EARP was in no mood to take prisoners at Catterick's final Flat fixture of the year when gunning down his rivals to claim the Weatherbys Bank Handicap.
It was all beginning to look a bit bleak for the home-county team after southern-trained horses had plundered the first four races on the card, however the Malton-based 20-1 shot provided a welcome change of luck by scoring for Richard Fahey.
With only a furlong to go Wyatt Earp still had plenty to do, but just like his sharp-shooting namesake he trained his sights to perfection and disposed of his rivals in clinical fashion come the closing stages of the £10,000 contest.
"That was his first win over seven furlongs. He's now won on fast plus soft ground and done it superbly," said John Hartley of the victorious Los Bandidos four-man syndicate.
Readers currently putting together a bunch of horses to follow for 2006 could do worse than add Paul Cole's improving two-year-old, Namid Reprobate, to the list.
Rider Shane Kelly was in no hurry to make his move aboard Namid Reprobate, a wise policy since when he did ask for an effort the youngster responded to nail Hits Only Jude near the finish of the six-furlong Nursery.
"He's progressing nicely and I think that'll be it for this year now he's won two-in-a-row," declared the smiling owner of the Whatcombe raider, Patricia Aston.
Richard Hannon's annual tally of runners at the course can be counted on the fingers of one hand, so the fact he despatched Orchard Supreme up from Wiltshire to contest the Robin Hood's Bay Auction Stakes was a tip in itself.
The punters didn't seem impressed sending the colt off at the inviting odds of 8-1, however jockey Ryan Moore quickly had his charge at the head of affairs, turning the race into a procession when kicking Orchard Supreme clear at the two-furlong pole.
Moore went on to complete a sparkling 89-1 double by partnering Hernando's Boy to a runaway triumph in the closing mile-and-three-quarter Handicap.
Keith Reveley's unmistakable gelding, boasting a wide blaze of white down his handsome head, took the staying race by the scruff of the neck, positively sprinting away with the £4,264 first prize.
Gifted Musician's 294-mile gruelling trek from John Dunlop's yard in deepest Sussex proved to be a journey well worthwhile.
Eddie Ahern opted to track Desert Storm in the mile-and-a-half Hambleton Maiden Stakes, prior to grabbing the much-favoured stands' rail in the home straight and booting Gifted Musician into an unassailable lead.
Another horse to take advantage of that particular fast strip of ground was Ian Semple's Dizzy In The Head, who made every yard of the running in the five-furlong Claiming Stakes. It provided winning rider, Lee Enstone, with a comeback victory after the 22-year-old had quit the game for ten months following a losing battle with the scales that forced him to reconsider his career.
"I was struggling to do 9st and decided to give it break," revealed Enstone, who lost weight in the summer by renewing his formerly-successful association with Middleham handler, Patrick Haslam.
l With 50 winners on the Yorkshire racecourses during the Flat season, Middleham trainer, Mark Johnston will retain the Sky Bet Trophy as the leading handler in the White Rose county. Kevin Ryan is second on 35 with just Saturday's meeting at Doncaster remaining.
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