ITV Sunday Musselburgh And Pontefract Preview

The first selection for us on ITV comes from Pontefract in the Listed Pomfret Stakes and we are siding with Regal Reality for Sir Michael Stoute who is by far the best horse in the race.

Previously donning the colours of Cheveley Park Stud, the 6 year old has tasted most of his success at Group 3 level over 1 mile

Mainly running over 1 mile in his early career, he garnered success when upped in trip for the first time to 10 furlongs at Sandown and followed that up with a career best effort to be third in the 2019 Coral Eclipse behind superstar Enable.

Connections seemingly thought they’d found his best trip, he was highly tried over 10 furlongs but failed to replicate the form he showed in the Eclipse.

It wasn’t until half way through last season he dropped back to a mile and immediately bounced back to form when stealing the Sovereign Stakes by 3.5 lengths.

Unable to land a blow in Group Two company after his last win, he ran well to hit the frame both times but was held behind better horses.

This season he has been seen twice, firstly in the Group One Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot when outclassed and he was also below par in the Group Two Summer Mile over the same C&D.

This Listed event represents a big chance to get back to winning ways.

The first selection from Musselburgh on Sunday is Detective for the shrewd Dianne Sayer team and this five year old is arguably the form horse in the field.

Since May this season the penny has seemed to finally drop, getting off the mark at Carlisle off a mark of 45 over 9f and then he backed that up over a mile at the northern track when another good second.

Next time out he got back to winning ways back over 9f and over the same C&D last time out he landed a quick-fire double.

Still only on a mark of 58 he looks to still not have hit his ceiling and with a handy 5lb claimer on board he looks hard to dismiss.

Next up is the Class 4 Nursery Handicap over five furlongs and the horse that stands out for us is the Bryan Smart trained Firebomb.

This two year old has been knocking on the door frequently this term, learning a lot from his seasonal debut to then finish a good second behind Perfect Power at Hamilton, with the winner franking the form at Royal Ascot next time out.

Since then the colt has finished twice on two more occasions behind extremely progressive horses and that form stacks up in this field.

Looks feasibly treated off a mark of 75 on handicap debut and in the past he has shown to handle both soft and good ground.

Player.

One of the big races on the Musselburgh card on Sunday is the Sprint Handicap over five furlongs and at a lovely each way price Primo's Comet offers value.

This season the six year old has been seen four times, needing his debut over course and distance before returning to the track and getting off the mark for the season.

Bumped up 4lb for that win he was poor again over C&D, but again bounced back last time out to score again in a decent event.

Although up another 4lb he seems to be progressing this season and having ran well off this mark in the past he can not be overlooked.

One of our best bets of the day comes in the Fillies Handicap over a mile and Rising Star for Marco Botti has some top class form that makes him the one to beat.

The three year old filly this term has been seen twice, finishing a good third at Pontefract in a competitive handicap, but then took her form to a new level last time out when second over 7f at Newmarket behind the smart Spirit Of Bermuda.

Back up to mile is a positive and the form of that run sets the standard in this field, with her running off the same mark.

The penultimate selection of the day for us comes in the Class 4 Handicap over seven furlongs and at a nice price Danzan could cause an upset.

The Tim Easterby trained runner was a bright runner at the start of the season finishing second at York twice in very smart handicaps, but then slightly fell off the boil.

With that he has dropped down in the weights and off a mark of 84 last time out finished another good fourth in a 19 runner handicap and off 1lb lower today he seems to have found his form again.

He is now 21lb below his last winning mark and looks primed for a big run at an each way price.

The final runner of the afternoon is the Stayers Handicap over 1m6f and Wise Eagle for trainer Adam Nicol still looks to be able to win off this mark.

The four year old has been a model of consistency for the majority of the last 18 months, racing nine times and placing in eight of them, whilst also going on to win five times.

Having been going up the handicap he has still managed to keep winning, scoring over course and distance in June and then backed that up at Ayr when a narrow second to a progressive type.

He is only 3lb higher for that run and should give his running once more.

Strong stayer.