Julie Camacho is hoping Look Out Louis can deliver in the £50,000 William Hill Best Odds Guaranteed Handicap at York – but is well aware how hard it is to post a victory at her local racecourse.
The Malton-based trainer was so close to success at last week’s Dante Festival when Makanah went down by a head to Dakota Gold in the Churchill Tyres Handicap.
Camacho said: “The thing about York is, it’s always so competitive isn’t it?
"You don’t get any soft races at York – everybody wants to go. To have a winner there is very difficult.”
Sprint handicaps often come down to fine margins, a point that was underlined when Makanah’s stablemate Look Out Louis won by a head at Chester a fortnight ago.
The Chester triumph represented a career-high for the six-year-old gelding as he won off an official rating of 85.
Camacho said: “We were delighted with him at Chester. To be fair, he has been a little star for us. He’s not a moment’s bother – he’s easy to train. As long as he spends plenty of time out in the paddock he’s happy. And he’s out in the paddock as we speak!
“We don’t do a lot with him, to be honest. Just keep him happy, keep him ticking over and they keep themselves fit if they’re running in these sprints. It’s not like a two-mile horse."
Look Out Louis, who will once again be partnered by jockey Jason Hart in the five-furlong contest, has been raised 4lb by the handicapper for his latest win – the fifth since he switched to Camacho’s string late in 2020.
Look Out Louis’ Chester victory came with some ease in the ground but it’s not his preference.
Camacho said: “The faster the better for him. He got away with it at Chester. The showers can go to Haydock (where she’ll be represented in the Group 2 Temple Stakes by Ainsdale). I want as much rain as possible at Haydock and no more at York!"
Saturday’s seven-race card also features the William Hill Bronte Cup Fillies’ Stakes. The £90,000 Group 3, staged over a mile and three quarters, has attracted a field of seven including Believe in Love, who suffered a narrow defeat in Group One company in France last autumn.
The card opens at 1.40 with the William Hill Play Responsibly Handicap. The two-day fixture continues on Sunday when the Sky Bet Sunday Series Sprint will be the £50,000 highlight.
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