Horse Racing Tips: Ellison hoping for something Speciale at York

Flat racing holds sway across the UK and Ireland on Friday, with a total of eight meetings taking place across the afternoon and into the evening.

Among our Friday horse racing tips is one for trainer Brian Ellison who will be hoping his representative in the first at York can bounce back to winning ways.

13:50 York - Lir Speciale each way @ 10/1

Day One of York's June Meeting takes place on Friday and includes a competitive handicap over seven furlongs. This looks to be a tricky race to call from a betting perspective, but has the making of a very competitive race with a large field set to take the stage.

While a case can be made for many, one who sticks out in this Extra Place Race is LIR SPECIALE for trainer Brian Ellison.

Ellison's seven-year-old has been in relatively good form as of late. He signed off his campaign last year with two wins at Doncaster and has hit the ground running once more this season.

Connections have tried their luck up in grade, with the gelding holding his own up in this sphere and securing two third-place finishes in his first two runs this year.

While he ultimately disappointed at Newbury last time out, the combination of a return to seven furlongs and a drop down in grade can have him running a big race here.

14:13 Sandown - Nogo's Dream @ 6/1

NOGO'S DREAM is an interesting runner at Sandown this Friday. He's long without a win but has been unfortunate not to have got off the mark recently and often shows signs of promise in defeat.

While his previous outing at Goodwood can be overlooked due to a difficult start that ruined his chances, his penultimate run at Nottingham was far more encouraging.

On that day, he appeared the most probable winner but couldn't get past the eventual winner and was denied by just a head.

When taking his prior form into account, a mark of 79 looks more than manageable for the gelding and the step down to Class 4 company can put him in good stead for a big performance this afternoon at Sandown.

16:10 York - Altareq @ 5/2

The feature race of the day at York is the class two handicap over the extended 1m 2f. Roger Varian and Jack Channon are well represented at the top of the market with Antipodes and Rathgar, however, a chance can be taken on ALTAREQ for Jim Goldie.

The four-year-old arrives here in fine form and will benefit from a significant weight advantage over his competitors. Since moving from the Gosden stable, Goldie's charge has impressed, securing two third-place finishes this term after a nearly year-long absence away from racing.

He was unfortunate not to go further at Hamilton last time, but a slow start put him on the back foot from the off.

He'll come along well with those two runs under his belt and is more than capable of continuing his improvement here.