Racing: The Easterby family have been in the forefront of a small group of cross-channel trainers who have defied the stupid notion that has emerged since the end of the second World War that the north of England is no place to have good horses in training.
There was a strong element of snobbery about the promotion of Newmarket in its stand alone status but the Yorkshire folk have always fought against it and no one to better effect than Miles Henry and Michael William Easterby to give the brothers their correct christian names.
Today Timothy has taken over the stables at Malton and he has already proved that the Easterby tradition is in safe hands.
The Athasi Stakes at the Curragh tomorrow has justifiably regained its position in the Group Three rankings and Kevin Darley will be aboard the Easterby runner Golden Nun whose chance of success has been enormously enhanced by the fact that John Oxx has no runner.
This is a real turn up for the book as the Oxxs, father and son have won the race on nine occasions since it was first run in 1952.
Furthermore if John had a filly forward enough he would have known where he stood with Golden Nun as she was beaten in a three-way photo by Hanabad at The Curragh in October.
With Jamie Spencer an absentee Michael Kinane will have a chance to bridge the early season gap that has opened up between him and the young pretender to his title. According to the official ratings Kinane's Athasi Stakes mount Maroochydore is the one that Golden Nun has to beat.
The pick of the Kinane supporting rides can be Battle Games (3-0) Patriotism (5-0) and Barati (5-30).
Pinfield is a new name on the Irish trainers' list this season and he expects that Patriotism will have come on significantly since finishing fourth to Southern Style in a mile maiden at Limerick.
Colm O'Donoghue who rode Patriotism that day can take advantage of Spencer's absence to secure his own first two-year-old success this season when he will be exercising his 3lb claim on the Japanese bred Wuthering Heights.
Tomorrow Sligo may be laying on an all National Hunt Meeting but the chances of it shedding much light on what is in store for us at Punchestown next week look extraordinarily slim.
At least the standard of horsemanship will be upheld with both Paul Carberry and Barry Geraghty in action but with two bumpers on the seven race card amateurs have good chances to win the majority of the races.
The best bet could be Recording as she contests a four-year-old bumper in which the specialists Noel Meade and Willie Mullins have no runner.
The top billing at Navan goes to the Irish Stallion Farms sponsorship the Salsabil Stakes in which the least exposed runner, the once raced All Too Beautiful can stay unbeaten.
Zarafsha is an Aga Khan filly who hails from the Petite Etoile line and is assured of an early success in a maiden of this nature.
Sunstrach will get his British campaign underway in the Betfred Gordon Richards Stakes at Sandown today. The six-year-old has joined the Newmarket yard of Luca Cumani after racing for Emilio Borromeo in Italy last year.
