SEMANA Santa can dish out the proverbial weight and a beating to her rivals as she steps up to seven furlongs at Thirsk.

David Barron's three-year-old must shoulder top weight in the Pirates Family Day Friday 26th August Handicap, but she should be capable of doing so in the trusty hands of Graham Gibbons.

Unraced as a juvenile, Semana Santa was a ready winner at Wolverhampton on just her second racecourse outing with a head defeat of Destroyer.

One blot on the landscape over five furlongs at Pontefract aside, she has since held her form pretty stoutly since thoughts turned to handicapping this summer.

Indeed, there was much to like about her recent performance at Nottingham on August 2, when she got to within three-quarters of a length of King Of Spin, who was in receipt of 3lb from the runner-up.

What was most striking about the run was the ground she made up towards the finish, which tends to suggest Barron's, pictured, decision to step up in trip is eminently logical.

And in what is not a great race, to say the least, Barron once more looks to have placed Semana Santa into a highly winnable encounter.

Clear Spring should be backed in the feature event at Windsor.

John Spearing's inmate really caught the eye over this course and distance on his last outing in June when he finished fourth to Growl.

That did not necessarily tell the full story, though, as he was pinched for room at an important stage before he stayed on late in the piece.

Versatile from a going point of view, the six-furlong Sky Bet Windsor Sprint Series Finale Handicap should hold no terrors if his fine victory in a similar sort of race at Newbury in May is factored into the equation.

Race of the day in Britain is at Chelmsford, where it is hard to rule out anything from the exotically-named Malibu Coconut Cup Conditions Stakes.

Be that as it may, it could well prove that Buckstay, from the Peter Chapple-Hyam operation, will be on a going day.

The six-year-old has been a bit in and out since winning a huge handicap at Ascot last autumn, but he was only beaten four lengths in the Lennox Stakes at Goodwood so is clearly in fair nick.

Buckstay needs the cards to fall right – he is a textbook hold-up performer – but it is interesting to see him compete at this level rather than heading to York next week for a Listed race.

He is also no stranger to success on the all-weather, having pocketed races at Kempton and at Wolverhampton.

SELECTIONS:

CHELMSFORD: 2.00 Bee Case, 2.30 Give Us A Belle, 3.00 Santiburi Spring, 3.30 Buckstay, 4.00 Racing Knight, 4.30 Poplar, 5.00 Encapsulated.

ROSCOMMON: 5.20 Mack Attack, 5.50 Massif Central, 6.20 Kadra, 6.50 Finian's Bay, 7.20 Radar O'Reilly, 7.50 Zorba The Greek, 8.20 Sea Of Blue.

THIRSK: 2.15 Lualiwa, 2.45 Silent Assassin, 3.15 SEMANA SANTA (NAP), 3.45 Bondi Beach Boy, 4.15 Manshood, 4.45 Best Boy, 5.15 Terhaal, 5.45 Teetotal.

WINDSOR: 5.30 Trading Punches, 6.00 Mount Shamsan, 6.30 Stratum, 7.00 Materialistic, 7.30 Clear Spring, 8.00 Ickymasho.

DOUBLE: Semana Santa and Clear Spring.