THE two races sponsored by The Northern Echo at Sedgefield this evening have both attracted cracking fields, especially the Handicap Chase at 7.35, which has the added bonus of being covered by the popular Winning Post programme on Sky TV.

Watching on the box is OK, but there's nothing like the real thing, so if at all possible get yourself along to the track and witness the true helter-skelter of National Hunt racing.

The country's leading jump jockeys, Tony McCoy and Richard Johnson, both have rides throughout the evening, McCoy in particular is worth following aboard Specialize (7.35) and Sun King (8.35).

The two most recent form figures for Specialize are a rather ominous looking pair of duck eggs, which don't exactly advertise the chances of Karl Burke's charge.

However, delve a little deeper into the record books and it's fairly easy to see just why the nine-year-old gelding can be fancied, simply because he notched a brace of impressive victories over fences at Fakenham and Stratford during a highly-successful Millennium campaign.

It would be marvellous for all concerned if the four-year-old gelding, Northern Echo, could win our later sponsored race, the two-miles-and-one-furlong Novices' Hurdle at 8.35.

He's leased from local trainer and Saturday Echo columnist, Michael Dods, to a band of enthusiastic readers and employees of the newspaper.

Encouragingly for a horse making his debut over hurdles, Michael reports: "that he's never had one jump so well at home."

On the debit side, the strength of the opposition, notably Mary Reveley's June Worcester scorer, Sun King, means wagers on Northern Echo are recommended to be each-way, rather than "on the nose" to win.

Dods was also fairly upbeat about the prospects of the yard's Jeffrey Anotherred (3.30), who runs much earlier in the day at Leicester in the £10,000 Showcase Handicap.

"We've been waiting for soft ground for three months now, and its finally arrived," said the Denton, near Darlington, handler.

No patience required for the best bet at Hamilton, Beaufort Lady (2.15), in the opening six furlong juvenile contest.

After a tardy start, she made eye-catching late headway on her racecourse bow at Ripon ten days ago. With the benefit of that experience, together with improved fitness, a major showing is confidently expected.

A whole stack of northern raiders make their way down to Epsom where Thirsk-based David Nicholls appears set for a bumper evening.

Pace-setting Hormuz (6.20) can get the ball rolling for the Nicholls camp in the Chantilly Apprentice Handicap.

The selection ran a stormer at York last Saturday to finish runner-up to stable-companion, Peartree House.

And a repeat of that level of performance should be good enough to go one better in what at least on paper seems an inherently weaker contest.

Hormuz's conqueror, Peartree House (7.50), also makes the journey south for the Langley Vale Classified Stakes.

The seven-year-old is admirably suited by the 0-80 race conditions, a factor which will no doubt influence the betting ring to send him off a fairly warm market leader.