STAN FINNAMORE'S superior riding experience could play a major part in steering Shinner (2.15) to victory in the Collecting Ring Apprentice Handicap at Beverley today.

Such contests are normally a minefield for punters since many of the jockeys have yet to acquire the necessary skill in the saddle when push comes to shove up the home straight.

Not so for Stan, who is closing in fast on the watershed 50-winner career mark in his bid to join the senior ranks.

Confidence is therefore high that he'll be able to persuade Shinner to open her three-year-old account following a highly promising third-placing at Haydock recently.

As far as the rest of her previous form is concerned, the daughter of Charnwood Forest notched her sole victory to date in a fairly hot six furlong heat at Pontefract just over 12 months ago in June 2000.

And if further evidence is required, she's also from the same family as the ex-Middle Park winner Hittite Glory, and with plenty of stamina on the dam side of her pedigree, Shinner should have little difficulty in staying this afternoon's extended one mile trip.

The £12,000 Tote-sponsored Showcase Handicap offers the best chance of scooping a decent prize on the card and there's none better equipped to take a hand in proceedings than Rich Gift (3.45) from James Bethell's in-form stable.

The selection's a lightly-raced son of Cadeaux Genereux with tons of scope to improve on his only outing this season when finishing a meritorious runner-up to Sabo Rose at Newmarket.

Trainer Annabel King reportedly now stuffs cotton wool in the ears of Fairy Prince (4.45) to help keep the eight-year-old gelding calm during the preliminaries.

It's a policy potentially on the verge of reaping reward in the closing five furlong dash, especially in view of the fact that he's been favourably drawn in stall 18 of 20.

A fair posse of northern horses make their way down to Brighton including Middleham-based travellers Impulsive Air (4.30) and Glendamah (5.00).

The former, a shock 50-1 scorer at Beverley ten days ago, remains supremely well-handicapped on some of his performances from yesteryear.

Brighton's unusual configuration is just the sort of track to bring out the best in the near veteran nine-year-old, although as sure as eggs are eggs, he won't be starting at such an outlandish starting price this time.

Glendamah's case is not so convincing because he's been really struggling to recover from a wicked virus that laid him low throughout last year.

Nevertheless the John Weymes-trained raider is back on the sort of mark off which he could conceivably wipe the floor with his rivals in division 2 of the Daily Star Handicap.

l Eric Alston is to lodge an appeal against the failure of the Disclipinary Committee of the Jockey Club to clear him completely at his first appeal against the decision of the Southwell stewards to fine him over the running and riding of his gelding Sheer Focus last month.

The Preston trainer and jockey Ted Durcan had originally been found guilty under the ''non-triers''' Rule 157 and they picked up a £1,500 fine and ten-day suspension.

At their appeal on Thursday of last week, Durcan was cleared of breaching that Rule, but was found guilty of the lesser offence under Rule 158 governing ''failing to take all reasonable and permissible measures to ensure the gelding was given a full opportunity of obtaining the best possible placing''.

His suspension was consequently reduced to justseven days.