CAN anyone stop Richard Fahey at York?

Top trainer on Knavesmire for the past four years, the Malton handler will soon wrap up his fifth title if he keeps banging in the winners with such regularity.

Having taken two victories at the Dante Festival earlier this month, trailing Henry Cecil by one, the Musley Bank-based trainer levelled the score in the first contest on Saturday – before quickly getting a second in the very next race.

Lee Topliss is an apprentice jockey with a growing reputation, the latest talent in a string of Fahey youngsters which has included Robert Winston, Paul Hanagan and Freddie Tylicki.

He claimed his first Knavesmire winner when steering Trip The Light (5-4 fav) to victory in the opening sportingbet.com Claiming Stakes.

Trip The Light tracked the fast-starting Border Fox in the opening stages – taking over the lead at the three furlong marker.

Fahey’s five-year-old then just idled a little in front but Topliss still had enough in hand to hold off Saloon by a length.

“I am very pleased,” Topliss said. “I didn’t put him there (in front). He took himself there.

“In all fairness, they were coming back to him pretty quickly but he was just so easy on the bridle.

“When I asked him to go he did enough. He made it hard work.

It’s fantastic to get the first winner and hopefully I will get more now.”

Next up, in the sportingbet.com Conditions Stakes, Fahey’s brace arrived when Harrison George (5-2) stayed on gamely to prevail over seven furlongs.

With two left to travel, jockey Tony Hamilton had long time leader Marching and Sirocco Breeze, ridden by Frankie Dettori, in front of him.

But the five-year-old, now a winner of six races, stuck to the task and ground down his two challengers to snatch the £8,500 first prize by a neck from Marching.

Robin O’Ryan, Fahey’s assistant trainer, said: “He’s a star. He just keeps on improving.

“He’s so honest and he’s just unreal.”

Great Habton trainer Tim Easterby got in on the act when Hamish McGonagall took the lion’s share of the prize fund in the £40,000 sportingbet.com Sprint.

Always handy throughout the five furlong contest, the 7-2 favourite won in some style – striding out to a one-and-a-quarter-length win over Ziggy Lee after asserting at the two furlong marker.

Easterby said: “He has been a great horse and that was great. This was his target and now we will go to Musselburgh for the big sprint there – the Scottish Sprint Cup.”

Tactic (10-1) absolutely strolled home in the feature Listed Stowe Family Law LLP Grand Cup under the stewardship of Jimmy Quinn.

A massive 14 lengths separated Tactic from runner-up Munsef, with Macarthur a further five lengths adrift in the one mile, six furlong £40,000 race.

Elsewhere, Singapore Lilly (3-1 jt-fav) won the Yorkshire Regiment EBF Maiden Fillies’ Stakes, while Dherghaam (11-8 fav) was a runaway winner of the sportingbet.com Stakes.

And Sedgwick took the closing Bollinger Champagne Challenge Series Stakes.