Dave Nevison tips: my best three bets for York on Thursday

These sales races for two-year-olds have provided me with a few nice wins over the years. A glance through the recent winners of this particular race shows it pays not to try to be too clever with the biggest SP of the past four runnings being 4/1.

Often, they are much less competitive than the field size might suggest and they are farmed by the same trainers year after year.

Richard Hannon has won five of the past seven runnings and can extend that impressive record here. Persica improved considerably from first to second run (typical Hannon profile) and scored easily by 3½ lengths at Salisbury. If he progresses again, this £200,000 purchase might outclass his rivals.

He's 11-2 with several firms, while Spreadex quote him at 12-15 in a spread market where you get 50 points for a win, 30 for a second, 20 for a third or ten for a fourth. I'll be surprised if he is out of the first three, guaranteeing a profit, and would be a buyer.

I have no doubt that Ed Bethell will have targeted this five-year-old at this big handicap and am not at all concerned he has not been absent since the Royal Hunt Cup in June.

Point Lynas won narrowly at the meeting last season but lost the race, after an appeal, weeks later, so he has a score to settle. Before the Ascot disappointment he had once again shown himself very well suited to the Knavesmire, being beaten in a three-way photo finish at the big May meeting here.

He raced from stall 16 there and is slightly less wide in stall 14 here and is also 3lb better off with Northern Express, who finished alongside him.

Callum Rodriguez, his regular jockey, is back on board and has got the tactics right on this horse in the past. Bethell is still bang in form and could have a good meeting. Point Lynas looks a strong each way-bet, especially with extra places on offer.

Sophia’s Starlight is a bang in-form filly and hung on grittily to land her fifth handicap of the season last weekend, but she may be against a rival who is thrown in here as Nigiri doesn’t look like an 80-rated performer to me.

She has been brilliantly campaigned by Ralph Beckett to begin handicapping off a mark of 65 and has won her last two races easily.

She was a 300,000gns purchase and her dam was Listed placed and rated 100 on Timeform, so there is still much improvement to come if she is to live up to her pedigree. A mile looks her trip and if York is unlucky with the weather she will handle rain-softened ground.