Tinto strikes again in exciting sprint finish as Michael Dods rues York defeats

Michael Dods had a couple of close seconds at York's Dante meeting but struck with Tinto in the £20,000 sprint handicap.

The eight-year-old was regaining the prize after success in 2022 and showed an excellent attitude to beat Lucky Man and Secret Guest by a neck and a short head under Connor Beasley.

"He's a grand horse, he just doesn't want the ground too firm," Dods said. "I said to Connor to just let him find his feet. He'd been running with cheekpieces and I just thought we'd change it this year and wouldn't put them on him and it made no difference there.

"He wouldn't want to be coming through horses, he likes a bit of his own space, but he showed a good attitude and he's done it nicely. He gives his owners a lot of fun."

On his York runners, which included runners-up Northern Express and Dakota Gold, Dods said: "They ran well but nobody wants seconds, do they?

"We put Azure Blue in the Cecil Frail at Haydock next Friday so we'll discuss it with the owners. There's a possibility we might run her just to see where we are with her. She's come out of her race well."

Davies dominates

Chester Cup-winning jockey Harry Davies is enjoying a purple patch and struck on the Simon and Ed Crisford-trained Ghostlore, who won the 1m4f novice by eight and a half lengths.

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