The Fun CruSher made his racecourse debut at Thirsk last Saturday and, despite acting like it was his first day at school, came out on top to post a 33-1 success for Tim Easterby and owner Jim McGrath, the well-known Channel 4 racing pundit, writes Tom O’Ryan.

“He’s always been a nice horse. He was immature last year, so we gelded him and let him off, which has been the making of him,” said Easterby after Robert Winston had given The Fun Crusher a masterly ride, bringing him from well off the pace to snatch the spoils inside the final furlong.

• Brian Ellison continues to have his horses in good nick.

Following a 1-2 with Bocciani and Odin’s Raven in a valuable handicap hurdle final at Sedgefield early last week, the Norton trainer saw well-regarded newcomer Abergavenny triumph at Hereford before just failing to win a major handicap at Goodwood with the classy Moyenne Corniche, who went down by only half a length and looks capable of going one better in something similar before too long.

Neighbours John Quinn and Malcolm Jefferson were both on the mark at Hexham. Quinn scored with Folk Tune, while Jefferson hit the target with Aneyeforaneye, the mount of Graham Lee.

• Norton jockey Tom Eaves had a fruitful day last Saturday when clinching Group-race glory at Newmarket before dropping in at Doncaster on his way home to ride a further two winners.

Eaves led from pillar to post on the Bryan Smart-trained Tangerine Trees in the Palace House Stakes to gain a notable success.

Come the evening action and he followed up on Enderby Spirit, another Smart-trained sprinter, and Forevertheoptimist, a juvenile trained at Norton by Linda Stubbs, who has her string in excellent form.

Miles do not matter when there is the chance of a winner at the end of it and, earlier in the week, Stubbs had been rewarded for sending Fortunate Isle all the way to Brighton on the south coast when the gelding got home by a neck for Jimmy Sullivan.

• One week on from winning the Musselburgh Gold Cup on High Office, Ryedale apprentice Lee Topliss added last Saturday’s Thirsk Hunt Cup to his growing portfolio when gaining a smooth success on 4-1 shot Justonefortheroad.

Owned by the three-strong Pontoon Partnership, which includes former England footballer Alan Shearer, Justonefortheroad, trained, like High Office, by Richard Fahey, carried Topliss to a one-length win over Snow Bay.

It took the 5lb claimer to five wins for the season and further underlined his star potential, following a bumper 2010 campaign when he rode 31 winners to finish on the leaders’ heels in the apprentices’ championship.

• Mick Easterby has his horses in good form and the Sheriff Hutton trainer, coupled with his son and assistant David, posted a Flat-jumps double last Saturday, courtesy of Iceblast at Thirsk and Bitter Blue at Hexham’s evening meeting.

Iceblast, making up for a narrow defeat at Musselburgh, made no mistake in Thirsk’s sprint handicap, coming home a decisive winner under Jimmy Sullivan to provide owner Brian Padgett with his first-ever winner.

At Hexham, David Easterby got his name on the scoreboard, with Bitter Blue, who justified favouritism in the Heart Of All England Maiden Hunters’ Chase.

• Condolences to the family of Mick Lambert, the former Ryedale trainer, who has died at the age of 66 after a long battle with cancer.

A colourful and popular character, Lambert worked for Jimmy FitzGerald and Peter Easterby before starting training at Kennythorpe in 1981, from where he sent out almost 100 winners in a five-year spell, most notably Fine Sun, winner of the Doonside Cup, and high-class juvenile Our Dynasty.

Lambert went on to train at Mijas in Spain and also work as a bloodstock agent.