Updated 8.50 - all selections online
Safe to say, this is probably one of the most low-key Sundays we’ll see on the racing calendar. There is no Irish action and just one card from each code, with jumps racing at Uttoxeter - live on Sky Sports Racing - and a sole Flat meeting at Pontefract. Given we’re now in the holiday season, it feels like a missed opportunity having such a sparse Sunday in late July.
Just a quick note on Saturday’s action at Ascot, where Kalpana was brilliant in winning a strong renewal of the King George. A big well done also to the racecourse, who really went to town on making the venue feel special, with fantastic imagery and branding throughout. It genuinely felt like girl power had taken over, with Saffie Osborne riding a superb treble as she continues to enjoy an outstanding season.
Onto today’s two selections…
Pontefract would no doubt have been hoping for a few more runners in the £60,000 William Hill Pomfret Stakes (4:00), but on paper it looks a straight shootout between last year’s winner Point Lynas and the Karl Burke-trained HOLLOWAY BOY (4:00 Pontefract), who heads the market at the time of writing.
For me, I can’t look beyond Holloway Boy. The six-year-old finished second last time behind Zeus Olympios, keeping on well without ever really looking like he was going to reel in the younger horse. However, the form of that race looks particularly strong. He had some useful yardsticks in behind him that day, including More Thunder - runner-up in the Queen Anne Stakes - and Seagulls Eleven, who had previously won a Group 3 at Epsom as well as a Listed contest in France.
Holloway Boy is proven on this ground, and I think he’ll just have too much for Point Lynas late on. Hopefully we’ll still be able to get around even-money by the time the market settles.
I think the 2m 4f Sun Racing Summer Jumps Championship Handicap Chase (4:42) is comfortably the most interesting race on Uttoxeter’s card. Dan Skelton saddles three runners, there’s an Irish challenger, and David Pipe also fields a French recruit he picked up from a claimer in May making just his second start in Britain.
However, for me, the winner is between two: Country Park and AT THE OCHE (4:42 Uttoxeter). Country Park, representing the Jonjo O’Neill team, has looked a much-improved horse since switching to fences this summer. After a respectable fourth at Worcester, he then gained a confidence-boosting victory at Bangor in a small-field contest, but he’s now 7lb higher in the weights as a result, and I just wonder whether that rise could leave him vulnerable up against the new Skelton recruit At The Oche.
Not only would he be a topical winner given the darts final taking place in Blackpool today, but I also think he’s one of the most interesting horses running on the card. The five-year-old arrives having switched from the Nigel and Willy Twiston-Davies yard and has undergone a wind operation since. Now preparing to make his chasing debut for his new stable, At The Oche’s hurdling form suggested he was versatile regarding trip, so today’s intermediate distance should suit well. A three-time runner-up over hurdles, I’m hoping he can go one better on his first start over fences for Dan and Harry Skelton, who continue to enjoy an excellent summer.
Kate's Best Bets (scale 1-5 points):
4.00 PONTEFRACT
1pt win HOLLOWAY BOY (evens general)
4.42 UTTOXETER
1pt win AT THE OCHE (5-4 & 6-5 general)
