York is my favourite, and luckiest, track so I’ll be sad walking out of the weighing room after racing today knowing I won’t be back there until next spring.

William Derby and his team do a great job - it’s the Ascot of the north - and I’ve been fortunate to have 13 winners there this year, with the second Nunthorpe success of Mecca’s Angel being the highlight.

I sign off York for 2016 with three live chances, starting with Central Square for Roger Varian in the Download The Coral App Stakes (2.35).

I’ve ridden him a couple of times, winning at Ayr in June and then finishing a close fourth on him over a mile and a half at York.

Last time out, back at ten furlongs at Doncaster’s St Leger, he was equipped with first-time blinkers and won convincingly from the well fancied Sir Michael Stoute-trained favourite Poet’s Word.

He’s got to cope with an 8lbs higher mark, but the blinkers seems to have been the making of him and, if has the same effect, he should go close.

I ride Ernststavroblofeld in the Listed Coral.Co.Uk Rockingham Stakes (3.10) for Martyn Meade.

He started favourite when winning in style on his debut at Yarmouth a couple of months ago and I know they think a lot of him.

Last, but not least, I’m on the wonderfully consistent Get Knotted in the Coral Sprint Trophy (3.45).

I’ve won on him three times, including over seven furlongs at York in July.

He’s been a revelation since we dropped him back to six furlongs and he ran a blinder last time when runner-up in the 25-runner Silver Cup at Ayr.

Get Knotted has been nudged up another 2lbs but I’m certain he can still be competitive off that mark and I give him a massive chance. He will be better again next year, too, so keep him in mind for 2017.

Newcastle has been in the headlines for the wrong reasons this week, with stories that the track is not safe because of lack of floodlighting beyond the winning post.

It’s an absurd suggestion because there are four furlongs of light after the winning line. If you cannot pull up a horse after half a mile you should not be riding - unless you happen to be sitting on Frankel!

There are absolutely no issues at the track - it’s perfect. James Armstrong and his staff do a great job there and it was disappointing to see them criticised.

If people are concerned about pull-up areas, then they should have a look at other tracks like Brighton and Goodwood.

At Brighton you’ve got about half a furlong to put the brakes on and in a race like the Stewards’ Cup, at Goodwood, you quickly hit a dead end.

Newcastle? Four furlongs to pull up is a luxury.

It was obviously disappointing that Mecca’s Angel came up just a bit short in the Prix de l’Abbaye last Sunday but, typically, she tried her heart out and still ran a great race to be beaten under a length into third.

She doesn’t like being crowded and her low to middle draw at Chantilly didn’t help. We were constantly being pressured from both sides and I was always going a stride quicker than I wanted to in order to hold my position.

As a consequence she didn’t travel the way she normally does - she was slightly out of her comfort zone and could not get in her usual rhythm. It just did not pan out like it did in the Nunthorpe.

She’s very tough and Michael [Dods] says that she has come out of it very well. He’s leaning towards running her in the Qipco British Champions Sprint at Ascot next week and it would be great if she does bow out on British soil - hopefully with a win… more of that in next week’s column.

With a week or so left of the season, it looks like Jim Crowley has got the Stobart Jockeys’ Championship in the bag.

He’s pulled clear of Silvestre de Sousa and that is a fantastic achievement, because Silvestre is not a man to roll over.

Jim rode a record 46 winners last month - not even Tony McCoy managed that - and had over 200 rides. He’s been fuelled by the winners, no doubt, but he must be buzzing and fair play to him. He has put in some serious graft and will be a deserved winner.