Celeric can roll back the years and win the Merewood Homes Yorkshire Cup at York today. It was on this course back in 1996 that he first showed himself a top stayer, battling to victory in the Lonsdale Stakes at the Ebor meeting.
He returned to win this Group Two race the following May and won the Gold Cup at Ascot in 1997. He proved nearly as good as ever last season when he gained a second victory in the Lonsdale Stakes.
He ran a highly-encouraging race when third on his reappearance in the Sagaro Stakes at Ascot, conceding weight to the first two on ground much softer than ideal.
That race was almost certainly needed - he has only once won first time out in seven seasons of racing - and the gelding should be much sharper today.
Underfoot conditions will be perfect this time for Celeric, and he is much better treated at the weights here.
Literary Society is another veteran top-of-the-ground specialist to look out for. The seven-year-old, sharpened up by a recent pipe-opener at Newmarket, should go very well in the opening Guilbert UK Rated Stakes.
He is a very useful sprinter on his day and looks favourably handicapped, racing off the same mark as when third in the Stewards' Cup at Goodwood last year.
But youth may beat experience in the Duke of York Victor Chandler Stakes. The three-year-old Tabheej - receiving weight from each of her rivals - has been aimed at this race for some time. She showed progressive form as a juvenile before being outstayed in a seven-furlong event on soft ground at Newmarket. Her earlier defeat of Kier Park over six furlongs at Doncaster was the performance of a smart sprinter.
Fast Track can lift the Michael Seely Memorial Glasgow Stakes.
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