KARL BURKE'S two-year-olds have done the Middleham trainer proud so far this term, a trend quite likely to be upheld by Cathedral Walk (2.20) at Yarmouth.

There are few finer training establishments in the land than Spigot Lodge, standing imperiously above Wensleydale, where Burke has his youngsters in sparkling fettle.

Cathedral Walk didn't win on his Ayr debut, but then again it was a warm race and in occupying third spot the son of Johannesburg hinted of much better things to come.

Pat Eddery, the much-loved former nine-times champion jockey, has made a relatively quiet start to his training career.

Armed with the right ammo his expertise comes to the fore with the likes of Lapina, who looks a rock-solid each-way contender in the Wherry Lines Handicap.

Only once out of the first three on her last five runs, Lapina (4.20) very nearly added to her sole career triumph when beaten a matter of inches by President Dan at Folkestone a fortnight ago.

Raised just two pounds for that cracking effort, Eddery's admirably consistent three-year-old seems sure to be involved in the climax of the near mile-and-a-half contest.

Ashley Morgan's 7lbs allowance should help Dot's Delight (4.50) build on what was an extremely promising third at the course late last month.

Mark Tompkins' filly went off as a 25-1 rag on that occasion, which, with the benefit of hindsight, was no surprise, seeing as Tompkins was also responsible for the strongly-supported 13/8 winner of the event!

It's possible to interpret that intriguing scenario in a number of ways, however there's no question it was a vastly-improved run from Dot's Delight, who might well now be poised to open her account.

Haydock-bound Fitzroy Crossing (2.10) is probably worth another chance having run too badly to be true when failing to justify odds-on favouritism at Ayr in June.

Previous to that inexplicable flop, Fitzroy Crossing had shown his true colours with a highly-encouraging Ascot second, superior form to any of his rivals in the Daklia Maiden Stakes.

Although backing top-weights in three-year-old handicaps is a one-way ticket to the poor house, All You Need (3.10) might still not be such a bad bet.

Reg Hollinshead's gelding clocked a fair speed figure when winning a Wolverhampton maiden, striking on at the furlong pole and rolling all the way to the line to collect with impressive authority.