Tom Queally and Jamie Spencer, who both enjoyed major successes at Royal Ascot, head to Pontefract tomorrow and look likely to figure among the winners.
Queally, who rode the unbeaten Frankel to victory in the St James’s Palace Stakes, can score on Favorite Girl for Frankel’s trainer Henry Cecil in the totepool Maiden Stakes, while Spencer, who won the Ascot Gold Cup for Aidan O’Brien on Fame And Glory, can win the feature race on Distant Memories.
Trained at Hazelwood Castle, near Tadcaster by Tom Tate, Distant Memories goes for the £30,000 totepool Pontefract Castle Stakes and is fancied to have the edge.
Out of his depth last time at Sandown in the race won by last year’s Derby winner Workforce, Distant Memories had previously traded blows at Chester in the Huxley Stakes with the high-class Await The Dawn before coming off second-best to the classy Aidan O'Brien-trained charge.
Tomorrow’s race represents a drop in class for Distant Memories, who can carry Spencer to success and post his sixth career win.
Favorite Girl has had just one outing to date and showed promise when finishing second at Lingfield. She is not a star of the Cecil stable, but she looks up to winning in maiden company and is selected to make Queally’s trip north well worthwhile. She’s Got The Luck, trained by Richard Fahey, looks the main danger.
Fahey has good prospects of winning the totesport Handicap with Our Joe Mac. The four-year-old has taken time to come to hand this season, and, after disappointing on his early outings, he ran a much more encouraging race to finish third at Haydock on his latest outing. If he can build on that performance, he should figure.
Bryan Smart is better known as a trainer of sprinters, but the Hambleton handler has a decent stayer in Wells Lyrical, who gets the vote in the totesport.com Pontefract Cup.
Tom Eaves’ mount came good after a spell in the wilderness on this course last month over two miles. Tomorrow’s extra two furlongs will not count against him and a 6lb rise in the ratings may not be enought to halt him.
The nap vote is awarded to Alive And Kicking in the Try totequickpick Handicap over six furlongs.
Trained at Middleham by James Bethell, who had a winner at Ripon in midweek, Alive And Kicking was a good second to Redvers on this course on his third and latest outing. Now qualified for handicaps and given a mark of 70, he looks sure to give a good account of himself.
Over jumps at Hexham, a note should be made of the in-form Priors Gold (2.30) and Atlanta Falcon (5.30), both winners at the recent Perth Festival.
Racing selections
Pontefract
2.10 Goal Hanger, 2.40 Jumeirah Palm Star, 3.10 Ykickamoocow, 3.40 Our Joe Mac, 4.10 Distant Memories, 4.40 Wells Lyrical, 5.10 Favorite Girl, 5.40 Alive And Kicking (NAP).
Hexham
2.30 Priors Gold, 3.00 Yabora, 3.30 Bescot Springs, 4.00 Rolecarr, 4.30 Curahee, 5.00 Storm Breaker, 5.30 Atlanta Falcon.
Tomorrow’s other meeting
H ereford.
Today’s meetings
Ayr, Haydock, Lingfield, Newmarket, Redcar and Royal Ascot.
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