Yet another quiet old Monday – which must mean Pontefract. The South Yorkshire course again provides the heart of the day’s entertainment before handing the baton, as usual, to Windsor’s evening card.
We’ll stick with Pontefract. Top jockey William Buick is primarily at the course to ride for Godolphin and Khaled Abdullah, but it catches our eye that the small Northern yard of Micky Hammond has opportunistically booked Buick to ride their horse Cornerstone Lad in the 1m4f handicap (1530 BST).
This is a competitive little race. It splits into two groups – those that have already duped the handicapper with wins, and now have to handle higher ratings (Dyna Might, London Master, New Society), – and those that haven’t shown much yet and hence may have ratings from which they can dupe the handicapper (Red Master, Marqoom, Royal Cosmic).
The one that fits neither group and offers the best value is indeed Cornerstone Lad. He has had one handicap run off just 61, and ran a fine 2nd in a very good looking race at Ripon where he met some trouble in running at a course where it is very hard to come from off the pace. He has clearly demonstrated he is well handicapped, but is just 2lbs higher so still has a very exploitable rating. Buick can just tip the balance.
Recommendation: Cornerstone Lad (1530 Pontefract), 1pt win, 7/2 generally available
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