Monday gives us four meetings to pick through, and the shape of the day is a familiar one. The afternoon leans on a few short, solid types, then the prices stretch right out once Pontefract gets going under the evening lights. Plenty to chew on.
Leicester opens the account for us. Bradbury has done everything but win his last twice, clearly the best horse on both days before hanging away from a sure thing late on. The eyeshield goes on now to keep him looking the right way, Callan has ridden this track plenty, and the clock says he is coming forward rather than going back. If he keeps a straight line he wins.
Carlisle is where the afternoon gets interesting. Coconut Bay is finding her stride while the rest of her race stalls, and her recent times are the sharpest in the field. She has won here three times for a yard that knows how to land one at the track, and stall three is a comfortable spot over the trip. The bigger price is fair given she still has to put it together, but the ability is not in doubt. Later on the card Auspicious goes there as well as ever. That neck second over this course and distance reads better than the bare result, he is a recent Redcar winner up only a touch for it, and he is drawn handily. The soft ground is the one question we cannot answer in advance.
Then to Pontefract, where we are happy to take a few chances. Raulin is the anchor. He goes well round here, he has already won at the track, and the O’Meara and Tudhope pairing is one that delivers at this venue. The weights are dropping his way and that Hamilton second told us he stays the trip. Further down the card Nanny Park is the speculative one. She has been clocking quicker times than her finishing positions suggest, and that speed is on the up. Two last runs since joining Sara Ender hide what she is capable of off this mark, and at the price she is worth a small interest.
Windsor rounds things off in the evening, with Buckland Belle and Acclaimed Freedom carrying our interest there.
Yesterday handed us a winner in Isaac Newton at a shade of 6.0, which is the kind of return that keeps a quiet Sunday worthwhile.
Get the afternoon bankers out of the way first, then settle in for Pontefract. That is where this card earns its keep.