City Walk targeting Great St Wilfrid honours

City Walk will try to give trainer Saeed bin Suroor a first success in the William Hill/MND Association Great St Wilfrid at Ripon.

The £100,000 handicap has surprisingly not attracted a full field of 20 this season, with only 17 going to post.

As ever with big sprint handicaps, the draw could prove crucial and City Walk will be in stall three, which in the past would have been seen as a negative but two of the last three winners have come from a single-figure draw.

City Walk is relatively lightly for raced for an eight-year-old sprinter, but that is because prior to his run at Newcastle in June, he had the best part of two years off.

“He had been off a long time and he was too fresh, but he did show speed, which he always has,” said Bin Suroor.

“He worked nicely the other day and I hope he runs well. I know it’s a big field but if the track suits him, he’s in good form so I’m looking for a good result.

“He’s run at Ripon before but we are happy to forget it as he missed the break and got a bump.

“He’s a good horse, on some of his form he should have a very good chance.”

Richard Fahey’s Rock Opera and Ruth Carr’s Rousing Encore are amongst the favourites for the race, with long-standing Great St Wilfrid sponsors William Hill donating all profits from the contest to the MND Association, which will receive at least £30,000.

Both were narrowly denied by William Haggas’ progressive operator Elmonjed at York last time, with Rock Opera in third on the Knavesmire, just a short head in front of Rousing Encore in fourth.

Bryan Smart’s Secret Guest was third in the race last year and returns off just a 3lb higher mark after going close at Thirsk last month, with Jim Goldie’s Abduction also arriving in peak condition after a recent win at Chester.

“It’s been the plan for a bit. He won over seven and a bit last time out but he’s plenty of winning form at six,” said Goldie,

“The Great St Wilfrid can often be decided by the draw and we’re in the middle, you just need to get near the right horses. Who knows where you’ll need to be, look at the sprints at Goodwood, one day you wanted to be near side and the next far side. I think it’s to do with the pace.

“I’ve never really had much luck at Ripon, so it’s about time it changed.”

This will be the 31st year that William Hill have sponsored the Great St Wilfrid and their charitable link with the MND association which will be visible throughout the card.

Ben Wright, director of ESG and sustainability for William Hill, said: “We are excited to be teaming up with the MND Association this Saturday for a special raceday at Ripon.

“As one of the longest standing sponsorships in racing, Great St Wilfrid day at Ripon is always significant for William Hill, and this year holds an extra importance with all profits on the big race going to the MND Association.

“To further mark the occasion and highlight the legacy of Rob Burrow, we’ve created a bespoke saddlecloth for number seven in the field.”