PAUL HANAGAN’S bid for the jockey’s championship gathers pace with every winner – and he wishes they could all be like Polar Kite at York Racecourse.

The Malton-based rider just had to steer the Richard Fahey-trained juvenile to the finishing post in the Cakemark EBF Maiden Stakes.

Following a fantastic run of form which has seen him streak clear in the race to be Britain’s top jockey, Hanagan scored again in the very first race at York with one of his easiest winners of the year.

Polar Kite (10-11 fav) tracked early leader Jamaica Grande and, as they marched down the straight, Hanagan remained totally motionless in the saddle as his rivals were pushed along around him.

His mount picked up immediately when asked and the pair strolled away to a two-and-a-quarter length win over King Of The Celts.

Robin O’Ryan, Fahey’s assistant trainer, said: “He’s a real professional and a really nice horse. He did it well.

“When they are like that you want them to win well and he did that accordingly. They say the second is a nice horse as well.”

Hanagan, who notched up his double just half an hour later when Rose Blossom won the Group 3 Cuisine de France Summer Stakes, added: “It was like riding a piece of work. It was really easy and I wish every ride could go like that.”

That winning brace brought his Flat season total to 91 winners, and was his seventh York victory.

Brierty (9-2) got up in the final half furlong to take the Warbutons, Bakers Born & Bred Apprentice Stakes.

Trained at Sledmere by Declan Carroll, the four-year-old – ridden by Neil Fairley – piled on the pace to rob long-time leader Ridley Didley.

It had looked, coming into the final furlong, that Ridley Didley, ridden by Selby jockey Dean Heslop and trained by former York-based trainer Noel Wilson, would repel his challengers.

But Brierty marched down the outside to win by three-quarters of a length.

Elsewhere, Avenuesnalleyways (15-2) made mincemeat of a big field to win the Global Trading UK Responsible Packaging Stakes by five lengths over Fahey’s Fishforcompliments (6-1).

Godolphin got in on the act when La De Two (3-1) took the Caravan Chairman’s Charity Cup with ease and the 4-7 favourite Motrice won the Mrs Peek’s Stakes for jockey Seb Sanders and Newmarket trainer Sir Mark Prescott.