NORTH Yorkshire connections had plenty to cheer at York Races yesterday.

The first three races on Knavesmire all went the way of York area personalities and Sheriff Hutton jockey Kevin Darley landed a treble to boost his chances of lifting the jockeys' title.

He won the first race with an exceedingly good ride on Eastern Trumpeter in the Mr Kipling Exeedingly Good Stakes.

That brought his tally to 80 for the season to close the gap on leader Pat Eddery.

Darley took the 8-1 shot past 1998 winner Blessingindisguise, owned by York surveyor Alan Black and trained by Sheriff Hutton's Mick Easterby, a furlong from home and went on to win comfortably for Chepstow trainer Milton Bradley.

Lago Di Varano finished with the pack but was hoping for better luck in today's Beck's Bier Handicap after returning to Richard Whitaker's Wetherby stable overnight.

Easterby scored with Sporting Gesture in the Hearthstead Homes Stakes. Joe Fanning settled in front early on and held off favourite Harmony Hall for a 16-1 victory.

That provided Sand Hutton-based owner Steve Hull with his first winner, but Easterby expressed surprise with the going which was officially good.

"I'm absolutely delighted. I thought Sporting Gesture wanted soft ground, but it was like a road out there," said the Sheriff Hutton trainer, who revealed that he had purchased a sliding bit for the horse's mouth to help keep it's head straight.

Mick's nephew Tim won took the feature race of the day, the £25,000 Stanley Racing Summer Stakes, with Hot Tin Roof.

Darley unleashed a late surge to power past Cassandra Grove in the closing stages to win by threequarters of a length.

In the final race, the Ramsey's Maiden Stakes, dazzling Darley gained his 82nd winner of the season, riding Saratov, trained by Mark Johnston at Middleham.

Boreas, who has been entered for the Ebor, won the Cuisine De France Rated Stakes in style under Irish jockey J P Spencer.