tracked leader, headway to lead over 1f out, soon ridden, stayed on well
chased leaders, driven and outpaced 2f out, soon weakened, eased final furlong
chased leaders, driven and effort 2f out, soon ridden and no impression
led, raced keenly and hung right, quickened 2f out, ridden and headed over 1f out, stayed on under pressure to chase winner final furlong
held up, headway on outside 2f out, soon ridden, kept on final furlong, no impression on first 2
Withdrawn
A chance is taken with Doohulla, who can reverse recent form with Maddie's A Gem on these terms. However, none of the sextet can confidently be ruled out and the in-form Shrink, First Rhapsody and Rancho Cucamonga should also make bold bids. The last named has been consistent for David Barron and she looks sure to run her race again here. She is well treated in comparison to her All Weather rating and, as she has gone well here in the past, she looks sure to be a popular choice. However, her turf form can be erratic and her chance very much depends on how much water the course officials put on the track. First Rhapsody is holding her form well and can benefit from the assistance of Paul Hanagan. Even with a 7lb penalty she gets in her off an absolute featherweight and it can be considered significant that Hanagan will be doing his absolute minimum riding weight. However, his mount failed to get up the hill on her only previous visit to Pontefract and she needs to put in an improved display to figure. Shrink has been in flying form and fully deserves to take her chance today. However, the combination of a sixth furlong and her career highest rating do not make life easy for her and she looks vulnerable today. Therefore, we side with Doohulla, who is better than her form figures would have you believe and is likely to represent good value in a very tricky race to fathom.
Doohulla (USA) 7-1 (9-12) In touch, ridden 3f out, weakened 2f out, 7th of 9, 3l behind Keyaki (9-4) at Goodwood 7f fll hcp (4) gd.
Shrink 2-1fav (9-1) In touch, ridden to chase winner over 1f out, kept on but held towards finish, 2nd of 14, 1/2l behind The Leather Wedge (8-13) at Catterick 5f hcp (5) frm in May.
Maddie's A Jem 9-1 (9-13) Chased leaders over 4f, 12th of 14, 19l behind Firenze (9-11) at Leicester 6f fll hcp (5) gf.
Skiddaw Wolf 11-1 (8-11) Made all, ridden over 1f out, stayed on well, won at Redcar 6f 3yo hcp (5) frm beating Special Gold (9-5) by 2 1/2l, 13 ran.
First Rhapsody (IRE) 7-2 (8-8) In touch, pushed along halfway, headway over pressure to lead 1f out, stayed on strongly, won at Newcastle 6f 3yo mdn fll (5) gf beating Nan Scurry (8-11) by 3/4l, 5 ran.
Rancho Cucamonga (IRE) 11-4fav (9-0) Soon chasing leaders, ridden to lead just over 1f out, driven out, won at W'hampton 6f 3yo clm (6) pol beating Norcroft (9-5) by 2 1/2l, 13 ran.
