Saturday York Tips: Tom Collins believes blinkers will continue to work the oracle in the Melrose

Trainers Charlie Appleby and Andrew Balding have won four of the last five editions of the Melrose Handicap between them and both are strongly represented once again.

Appleby unleashes a two-pronged attack with recent Ascot scorer Wild Crusade getting the vote of confidence from stable jockey William Buick, while Frankie Dettori retains the mount on Al Nafir despite giving him a sub-par ride last time out at Newmarket.

Both have pedigrees to die for - Al Nafir cost a whopping €1.2million as a foal largely due to his family - but both encounter this 1m6f trip for the first time. The way Wild Crusade shaped when last seen suggests it shouldn’t be an issue, though conceding weight to his 12 rivals might prove to be his downfall. Al Nafir could thrive over this trip as he had looked a touch one-paced over shorter, but he’s skinny enough in the market for what he’s achieved.

Balding is represented by the leggy Soul Stopper, who seeks a hat-trick after wins at Salisbury and Chester. Stamina is clearly his forte and this may have been the target from some way out, so he has to be respected, but there’s a horse in this field that has a similar running style and appears better treated.

Soulcombe is bred to hit great heights - by the brilliant Frankel out of a mare called Ribbons, who won the Group 1 Prix Jean Romanet for James Fanshawe in 2014 - and has taken gigantic steps forward since he has been fitted with blinkers after undergoing a gelding operation earlier this season.

He began his sequence with an impressive last-to-first strike at Haydock in June off a mark of 68, and followed up just eight days later with a workmanlike success in a small field at Ascot off 6lb higher. Soulcombe wasn’t suited by the way that latter race was run yet still got the job done, which proved he was chucked in under a penalty.

William Haggas’ runner failed to rack up the three-timer but that might have been a blessing in disguise. Soulcombe ran exceptionally well to take fourth at Glorious Goodwood considering he failed to handle the track and was poorly positioned in a race that was dominated by front-runners. If they ran that race again he would win, and a subsequent 2lb rise from the handicapper leaves him off an extremely attractive mark for this richer prize.

With just 8st 4lb on his back and Holle Doyle booked to take the ride, Soulcombe can grind out victory on the Knavesmire.

Take a chance on underrated sprinter

The Group 2 City Of York Stakes is panning out to be an exceptional betting heat. Lennox Stakes winner Sandrine tentatively held the top spot in the antepost market but might be usurped on the day by one of her Goodwood foes. 

She was impressive at the Glorious meeting, but was always best positioned just in behind the leaders and her keen-going style was suited by the way of the race and unorthodox track. If you stopped the Lennox a furlong out you’d probably guess that Sandrine would go on to win comfortably, but she eventually only scraped home by a neck. 

A better effort is needed to confirm the form with runner-up Kinross, who had to negotiate a tight passage against the farside rail, and Sacred, who was given too much to do and finished a never-nearer fifth. I think Sacred is the best horse exiting that spot and she must be a player given William Haggas’ fine form this week.

I will probably have a saver on her given the wide-open nature of this race, but the main selection has to be Rohaan at the prices. Bemused is the best way to describe my reaction when I saw that David Evans’ charge opened at double-figure odds - this horse has been criminally underrated over the last couple of seasons despite proving he’s more than capable of challenging in Group races.

In fact, you can make a strong case that he should be favourite. Rohaan had a ridiculously hard campaign last year, taking in 12 races between January and October with his longest break coming in at just 34 days, but he performed consistently well and shot up the ratings from a lowly mark of 55 to a peak of 116. Not only did he win the Group 3 Pavillion and Group 2 Sandy Lane, but he also plundered the Wokingham at Royal Ascot before taking fifth in the Group 1 Flying Five.

Rohaan took a few runs to get back to his best this year, but he produced his mouth-watering late burst to retain his Wokingham crown in June and has shaped like the best horse in Group 1s the last twice. All he needs is a strong pace to run at and a long straight, both of which he should get here. I love the step up to 7f and the ground will be ideal.

Recommended bets

Soulcombe (2.25 York) @ 4
Rohaan (3.00 York) @ 8.6