'This is a nice prize' - key trainer quotes for valuable sprint handicap at York

Saturday: 3.15 York
Coral Sprint Trophy Handicap | 6f | 3yo+ | ITV/RTV

This £100,000 prize is the last chance for top 6f handicappers to pick up a big pot. As such, an ensemble cast has gathered at York and there is no obvious sign of a lop-sided field in terms of pace and draw, so hopes are high for a good clean fight to round off the sprint handicap season.

The obvious progressive horse in the field is Lethal Nymph, but personal opinion is that he is the right horse at the wrong track. He suits a stiffer 6f, particularly Ascot where he has won the last twice and where his half brother, River Nymph, also thrives.

Lethal Nymph is in stall 16 and the pace on that side will come from the likes of Mr Wagyu (15) and Bergerac (19). Right next to the latter in 18 is his stablemate Gis A Sub, who is clearly a York horse as he was second in the Gimcrack last year.

Gis A Sub is yet to fire this year, and given he was an expensive breeze-up purchase before running at two, there must be a danger his precocity is catching up with him. However, there have been positive signs on recent runs and he is now down to a mark of 96. Rider Oisin McSweeney's 5lb claim will help, too. His record at the track consists of two wins, a second, a third and a fourth from 11 rides.

In the tradition of any good sprint handicap, this is a race in which any sane punter would have a shortlist rather than an outright tip. Proven York types like Lucky Man, Bergerac, Gulliver and even Silver Samurai are all worth a good look, potentially for the final time in 2022.
Race analysis by Keith Melrose

What they say

Michael Dods, trainer of Dakota Gold
He's well and everyone knows how much he likes the track. He could do with some rain as he loves soft ground.

Ed Walker, trainer of Popmaster
He has a much better chance than you'd guess from his disappointing run in the Ayr Gold Cup last time as I got the tactics wrong there. He's in good form at home and if you take out that last effort there's no reason why he shouldn't run well. He's shown before that he's capable of throwing in a bad run and then bouncing straight back.

Marco Botti, trainer of Silver Samurai
He's been consistent and has run good races at York. He seems well, but we're concerned with the ground. We'll monitor it. Good to soft ground is fine, but I'm not sure if we'd run on very soft. He's gone up a fair bit this year but can still win off 97. He's drawn in stall seven, so we'll see where the pace is and if that makes a difference, but my main concern is the ground.

Clive Cox, trainer of Lethal Nymph
He's in excellent form, which he displayed when winning at Ascot last time. While he's in that form, this is a nice prize to go for on his final run of the season. He was impressive at Ascot and he's come out of that well, so I hope he can deal with the 7lb rise.
Reporting by James Burn

Read our Saturday previews:

1.50 Newmarket: 'It can play to his strengths' – Zetland test expected to suit Flying Honours

2.25 Newmarket: can Appleby and Buick springboard another star in the Autumn Stakes?

3.00 Newmarket: 'This has always been the plan' – trainers on the day's Group 1

3.40 Newmarket: 'She's had the exact same programme as Buzz' – can Henderson win the Ces again?

4.02 Chepstow: 'He's been working nicely' – find out who is expecting a big Silver Trophy run

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