AN EXCITING season for Thirsk reaches its climax on Saturday (September 8) with three of Yorkshire’s finest in an exciting tussle to be top trainer at the track this season.

It promises to be a thrilling sub-plot to the final day of Thirsk’s season as Richard Fahey, David O’Meara and Tim Easterby go head-to-head in a shoot-out to claim top honours for the year.

Fahey leads the way with eight winners this season and launches a five-horse raid on the last day card, although two of them, Grise Lightning and Queen Penn will be chasing the same pot in the feature race of the day, the Moody Construction Fillies Handicap.

Of the pair, the consistent Queen Penn seems to have the best chance even though she has yet to win this season. However, she gets a lot of weight here and ran an eye-catching race when third to Bedouin’s Story over course and distance less than three weeks ago.

“I am hoping for the best with all my runners, but as far as winning the title is concerned, I think I could be in trouble” joked Fahey with typical understatement, even though four of his eight winners came in the opening three meetings of Thirsk’s season.

Fahey, who has been far and away the most successful trainer at Thirsk in recent seasons, also runs Irreverent in the Jenny Roberts Millinery-EBF Novice Stakes, Firewater in the Barkers Of Northallerton Nursery Handicap and Accessor in the British Stallion Studs EBF Handicap.

O’Meara, who sits one behind Fahey on seven winners for the season, will have Mutadaffeq leading his small team when the five-year-old goes in the Calverts Carpets Hambleton Cup Handicap.

The five-year-old is at the top of the handicap, but is far from out of It on form and he usually runs well at Thirsk. He won his only start on the course in 2017 and though he has not won from two previous outings this year his second to Bayshore Freeway under 10st 2lbs in June was a high quality effort.

Whether Tim Easterby can come through and pip them both from his starting point of six winners is a moot point, but the Great Habton trainer fields a strong team of nine horses spread over five races with trainer’s wife Sarah quipping: “We are really going for it!”

Leading the charge is dual winner Angels in the Moody Construction Fillies Handicap, which will be the mount of David Allan, who is also on board Regal Mirage, one of two runners for the yard in the Calverts Carpets Hambleton Cup on the back of a recent battling performance when winning at Beverley.

Gates open at 11am ahead of the first race at 2pm.