VETERAN North Yorkshire trainer Mick Easterby likes nothing better than a winner on his premier local track and he travels to Knavesmire today with bright prospects of winning the showpiece event at York's final meeting of the season.

Aetna, who runs in the £75,000 Coral Sprint Trophy, has a leading chance in this six-furlong event after an excellent third-placed effort at Newmarket a fortnight ago, beaten less than a length.

That race was Aetna's first outing since winning over this course and distance in May. At her best on soft ground, the four-year-old will be in her element this afternoon as she lines up under Graham Gibbons.

David O'Maera's Watchable, winner of a valuable Curragh handicap two starts ago before coming unstuck from a bad draw in the Ayr Gold Cup, and Fast Shot, who finished fifth in Scotland's premier sprint and will be even more at home on this easier ground, figure among the dangers, but Aetna should take plenty of beating on behalf of the incomparable Easterby, pictured, whose career has spanned the best part of half a century.

The £45,000 coral.co.uk Rockingham Stakes, which carries Listed status, offers the chance to Tim Easterby's Mattmu to gain quick compensation after finishing a gallant second to the classy Limato in last Saturday's Redcar Two-Year-Old Trophy.

Mattmu looks sure to go well on ground he will savour, but it may well prove that he again has to play a supporting role to Richard Fahey's Bond's Girl, who beat him into third place in a richly-endowed sales race at Doncaster last month.

Bond's Girl meets Mattmu on slightly worse terms today, but she won by two lengths on Town Moor, a performance which came hot on the heels of a fine fourth-placed effort in the Weatherbys Super Sprint.

This another step up for Bond's Girl, but it would be no surprise to see her provide Malton jockey Paddy Mathers with another notable success.

Fahey can also win the coral.co.uk Maiden Stakes with Akeed Champion, the mount of Tony Hamilton.

This is the colt's first outing for the Malton trainer having previously been trained in Newmarket by Michael Bell, who placed him to finish a half-length second at Ascot early last September. He looks a useful horse in the making and is fancied to go one better this afternoon.

Also worth noting are Kashmiri Sunset (4.45), who is expected to be suited by the step up to two and a quarter miles, and the Tim Easterby-trained Ribblehead (5.20), who finished a creditable third to Cosmic Halo on this course last month.

Norton trainer John Quinn will be Newmarket-bound for the Betfred Cesarewitch Handicap, in which he has two runners in his bid to go one better than two years ago when he saddled runner-up Countrywide Flame.

The best of Quinn's hopes this time promises to be Swnymor, who was an easy winner at Chester in the summer before looking an unlucky loser when fifth at Galway after meeting trouble in running.

Swnymor has drawn a very wide berth today, which will not aid his cause, but he should give Phillip Makin a good ride in this famous marathon.

Bartholomew Fair, who ran out an emphatic winner at Yarmouth on his second start, is napped to cope with a step up to Group 3 company in the Betfred Goals Galore Autumn Stakes. Luca Cumani's colt looks a smart performer in the making.

Also worthy of attention at HQ are the progressive Blue Waltz (2.40) and the useful-looking Rewaaya (3.10).

Selections

York today

1.50 Indy, 2.20 Soviet Rock, 2.55 Bond's Girl, 3.30 Aetna, 4.10 Akeed Champion, 4.45 Kashmiri Sunset, 5.20 Ribblehead.

Newmarket today

2.05 Bartholomew Fair (NAP), 2.40 Blue Waltz, 3.10 Rewaaya, 3.50 Swnymor, 4.25 Colour Party, 5.05 Parsley, 5.40 Enobled.

Today's other meetings: Chepstow, Hexham Musselburgh and Wolverhampton.

Tomorrow's meetings: Ffos Las and Goodwood.