David O'Meara out to retain Go Racing In Yorkshire Summer Festival gong

David O'Meara is preparing Custom Cup for York as he looks to defend the leading trainer title at the Go Racing In Yorkshire Summer Festival.

The annual Flat jamboree, now in its eighth year, covers all nine of the county’s racecourses across nine days, kicking off at Ripon on Saturday week and culminating the following Sunday at Pontefract.

Custom Cut, the joint-highest rated horse in the Nawton handler's care, helped O'Meara to the leading trainer prize when landing Pontefract's Listed Pomfret Stakes on the final day of the Festival 12 months ago and is set to be part of the 2015 squad.

O'Meara, speaking at the press launch for the Go Racing In Yorkshire Summer Festival, said: "It's a good event and I'm looking forward to trying to be top trainer again."

The 117-rated Custom Cut has chalked up four subsequent wins since his success in West Yorkshire last summer and was last seen bustling up Arod in the Diomed Stakes at Epsom on Derby weekend. 

O'Meara said: "Custom Cut will go to York for the Sky Bet York Stakes, the Group Two later in the month (July 25).

"We'll be stepping him up in distance as it's over a mile and a quarter but we're happy to be stretching him a little bit more.

"He's been a grand horse for us, he's won six out of his last nine races and his only two real defeats came in the Lockinge and at Ascot on Champions Day at the end of last season.

"He's not that easy to place as he's obviously been well beaten in the two Group Ones and he's got to carry a Group Two penalty at York having already won twice at that level now, but he's won at York before and is a wonderful little horse.

"He just thrives on his racing."

Others in line for potential outings over the key nine days between July 18-26 are last year's Ayr Gold Cup hero Louis The Pious and Highland Acclaim, who could both turn up for the Sky Bet Dash, a valuable sprint handicap on the same day as the York Stakes.

The trainer said: "Louis The Pious is a bit tricky, he decides when he wins. He got hammered by the handicapper for winning at Ayr last year but is just coming back down the weights a bit now.

"Highland Acclaim is grand, he's taken his time to come to hand but he did that last year and is just a very keen horse. He needs settling, which is a hard job to do, and frankly isn't very clever but he has a lot of ability and his two runs at York so far were a win last June and a second in the autumn."

Mondialiste is a relatively new horse in the stable having joined from France at the start of the year and could bid to emulate Custom Cut by winning the Pomfret Stakes.

He made a very promising start for O'Meara when narrowly denied in the Lincoln and has acquitted himself well in defeat since, finishing midfield in the Royal Hunt Cup behind GM Hopkins when last seen.

O'Meara reported: "Mondialiste nearly won the Lincoln, it was a really good run and he ran another blinder in the Earl of Sefton at Newmarket.

"He was a little disadvantaged at Ascot as he was third of 15 in his group on the stands side. He'll be fine, he likes a little bit of cut in the ground so Ascot wasn't necessarily going to be to his liking, but hopefully he'll win a Listed race or Group race before the season's out.

"He might go to Pontefract and it's a race we won last year."

With 110 horses already in training, O'Meara's yard is working to full capacity, so much so he admits he could fill more boxes if he had them.

Many of his string had apparently lost their way before being rejuvenated by the tranquil setting.

"Some horses improve for coming here but not all," said O'Meara.

"I don't know why. It's different here compared to somewhere like Newmarket, which is wide-open and they have to walk through the town, some might not necessarily thrive for doing that.

"This is quieter and while we still work them hard, there's hardly a sound up here and we turn quite a few out - not all, though.

"I didn't really expect anything when I started out, you just try to win the next race and then end up with a good tally.

"I suppose I'm surprised (how quickly he's reached his current level) but I was always pretty confident I could do the job."

One further integral cog in the O'Meara success story has been jockey Danny Tudhope, but he has been on the sidelines with a broken thumb since the end of May.

"Hopefully he'll be back in the next 10 days, he sees a specialist again this week and he'll know more then," said O'Meara.

"He had the plaster off last week and they took another X-ray before they stuck it back on for a few more days.

"He won't be long."

This weekend is probably the busiest on the calendar and O'Meara's horses will be sent far and wide in search of winners, but he only looks to hold outside chances in the two biggest handicaps at York and Newmarket.

"We might have a couple in the John Smith's Cup, Fort Bastion and Chancery, but he won't get in I don't think," said the trainer.

"The trip is also a bit of an unknown for Fort Bastion.

"Louis The Pious and Highland Acclaim will probably run in the Bunbury Cup at Newmarket before York at the end of the month."

The biggest success story this year for the trainer in terms of wins has been Birdman, who struck a fourth time this season at Haydock last week.

"Birdman will run in the one-mile handicap (John Smith's Racing Stakes) at York on Saturday," said O'Meara.

"He ended up here a little bit by accident. A friend of mine rang me at 12pm one day and said he was pretty useful and might be worth claiming. I put a claim in, not thinking I'd get him but we did.

"Apparently he wasn't the easiest to ride out in Newmarket but after a few weeks he settled down. He's out in a field now and that seems to have sorted him out.

"He's gone from strength to strength."