HE'S arguably the most popular horse on the card at York this weekend.

His name is Top Notch Tonto and his white nose and white legs ensure that he stands out from the crowd.

Tomorrow, the chestnut gelding is back on the Knavesmire looking to defend his crown in the Listed Best Western Hotels Ganton Stakes.

Victory will guarantee the biggest cheer of the weekend and serve nicely as an hors d'oeuvres for a planned assault on next month's John Smith's Cup.

Trainer Brian Ellison is TNT's biggest admirer but the six-year-old is also visited by fans at Malton on a weekly basis and has over 2,000 followers on Twitter!

"He's definitely well loved," Ellison told The Press this week. "Why is he so popular? I guess it is down to his colouring. He was not that expensive and he has also won a lot of money."

TNT gave Ellison the first group success of his training career three years ago by winning the Betfred.com Superior Mile at Haydock.

He followed that up with a second place in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes and has now won nearly £500,000 in prize money for his Hull-based owner Keith Brown.

Despite not winning in eight races since last season's Ganton Stakes, TNT has clocked up a string of creditable placings in black type events. Tomorrow, he will be ridden for the fourth race in a row by Irish jockey Ben Curtis.

Ellison said: "He has been a competitive type for the last three years and picked up some good prize money. He is running in races that are hard to win but he loves York, he is in good form, and working well."

Last year's Lincoln winner Gabrial, trained by Richard Fahey in Malton, renews his rivalry with TNT after finishing second in the same race last year.

Thousands are set to flock to the June Meeting, starting today, and tomorrow's Charity Day is expected to raise around £350,000 for MacMillan cancer care.

Today's feature race is the £30,000 EBF Breeders Series Fillies Handicap (4.20pm) in which Mehronissa is strongly fancied after winning impressively at Haydock last month.

The daughter of Iffraaj, a winner on the Knavesmire when it hosted both the Royal Ascot and St Leger meetings ten years ago, has two wins of her own at Newmarket and another at Windsor.

Mehronissa carries the colours of Dubai-based owner Salem Rashid, who also owns trainer Ed Vaughan’s other representative, Interconnection, who runs in the 888sport.com Handicap (2.35pm).

Today’s seven-race card also features an intriguing five-furlong novice race for juveniles, which gets the meeting underway at 2pm.

The principal race on Saturday is the 888sport Charity Sprint, one of Britain’s richest sprint handicaps for three-year-olds, which offers prize money of £100,000.

Newmarket-based trainer Rae Guest hopes Show Stealer can live up to her name by taking the honours.

The three-year-old filly is one of the leading contenders for the richest race of the weekend after a sizzling victory in a recent six furlong handicap at Newmarket.

Guest pointed the way to York immediately after that triumph and is one of 37 entries for the valuable contest.

“I was very pleased with Show Stealer’s run at Newmarket," said Guest. "It was her first of the year and we hadn’t been getting her ready because she likes firm ground. Lucky enough, it was firm ground that day which suited her and she has come on for that run. We have been targeting this race from that day – as long as it doesn’t rain we are very hopeful.

“She doesn’t take much getting ready – she is not a very big filly, has always been very clean winded and very easy to deal with. Whatever you want to do with her, she does.”

Guest firmly believes that, in the future, his charge can aspire to contesting Group races.

This weekend's meeting ends with the fifth running of the Best Western Hotels & Macmillan Ride of Their Lives, which offers ten supporters - who have each pledged over £2,500 - the opportunity to compete in a nine furlong race.

For tickets call 01904 620911 ext 225 or visit www.yorkracecourse.co.uk