hampered at start, held up mid-division, ridden along halfway, headway over 1f out, kept on final furlong
towards rear, ridden over 2f out, headway approaching final furlong, ran on towards finish
jumped right at start, prominent for 3f
always rear division
in touch, driven over 1f out, weakened entering final furlong
mid-division, ridden halfway, stayed on towards finish
chased leaders, effort when weakening over 1f out
chased leaders, ridden halfway, weakened final furlong
mid-division, effort halfway, no impression
in touch, ridden halfway, kept on same pace final furlong
led, driven over 1f out, headed inside final furlong, no extra close home
hampered at start and towards rear, headway on outer over 1f out, ran on final furlong to lead close home
never better than mid-division
hampered at start, towards rear, headway over 1f out, no extra final furlong
Nonrunner
A solid case can be made for Mandurah, who is selected in preference to Namir, The History Man and Never Without Me. The last named has run into form of late and would be dangerous to rule out despite his wide draw. The gelding is a previous course and distance winner that will not mind the state of the ground. The History Man has also shown more of his old sparkle lately and, having won in good style at Thirsk at the weekend, he cannot be discounted. His rider knows him well and his 7lb claim does him no harm. Namir is another familiar name to the Pontefract faithful and he can also be relied upon to run his race. Quite whether top weight is going to be too much of an anchor today is debatable, though. Babyshambles is another worth a mention, as he has held his own at this sort of level this season. However, like a good number of the others, he has a bit to find with Mandurah if he runs to the best of his capabilities today. The David Nicholls-trained gelding proved he is thriving with a solid run at Goodwood just six days ago and, if posting a similar effort, he will be very hard to master this afternoon.
Castles In The Air 11-2 (9-2) Held up in touch, effort when hung right over 1f out, weakened inside final furlong, 7th of 13, 8l behind Irony (9-2) at Leicester 7f hcp 0-80 (4) gd in Jul.
Mandurah (IRE) 10-1 (8-4) Led stand's side group until over 1f out, kept on but no extra, 3rd of 20, 1 1/2l behind Total Impact (8-8) at Goodwood 5f hcp 0-90 (3) gf in Jul.
Mr Wolf 6-4fav (9-12) Led, driven over 1f out, headed inside final furlong, no extra close home, 2nd of 11, 1/2l behind Comptonspirit (9-7) at Pontefract 5f hcap (5) gf in Jul.
New York Oscar (IRE) 5-1 (9-5) With leader, led 2f out, headed over 1f out, weakened, 4th of 11, 4 1/2l behind Hurricane Hen (9-0) at W'hampton 5f 3yo & 4yo sll (6) pol in Jul.
The History Man (IRE) 14-1 (10-0) Made all, ridden 2f out, hung left over 1f out, kept on final furlong, won at Thirsk 6f app hcp (5) gs beating Soto (9-10) by a nk, 10 ran.
Kings College Boy 3-1jt-fav (9-3) Tracked leaders, ridden over 2f out, soon one pace, 4th of 6, 4 1/2l behind Guest Connections (9-4) at Hamilton 5f clm (6) gd in Jul.
Commander Wish 9-1 (9-4) Behind, ridden and good headway over 1f out, led last 50 yards, won at Beverley 5f hcp 0-65 (6) gd in Jul beating Soto (9-9) by 1 1/2l, 16 ran.
Baybshambles (IRE) 6-1 (8-13) Never better than mid-division, 7th of 11, 9l behind Wyatt Earp (9-6) at Redcar 6f hcp 0-85 (4) gf in Jul.
