As the flat season continues to wind down, Pontefract stage their penultimate meeting of the season on Monday 3rd October. The 15th race meeting of the year at the West Yorkshire venue is bound to be well supported as trainers get one last run in to their charges before the National Hunt season takes over.
It’s a fascinating card with the feature being ‘The Tradeway Shipping Peter Kirkham Retiring Handicap’ over 1 mile. The £15,000 prize money is bound to attract some interesting types. The 2015 race saw Godolphin’s ‘Pallister’ take the prize. Godolphin sent a strong team for the meeting last year with 5 of their charges being sent off favourite. However, Pallister was the only winner for the ‘boys in blue’ with some noticeable fancied runners turned over – in the opening Racing UK Maiden, their 2-9 favourite ‘Change The Game’ was trying to win the race for the owner for the 4th year in a row but could not hold off Ann Duffield’s 50-1 winner ‘Heaven Scent’!
Whilst it is not one of the more valuable races on the card, The Bluff Cove Handicap will certainly be one of the most fiercely contested as it makes up the penultimate leg of the Stayers Championship at the course in 2016. The ‘Championship’ looks like going to the wire with former winner, Riptide, holding the lead. With recent course winner Medina Sidonia also reportedly aiming for the race, it looks like being an exciting climax to the series.
The Racing UK Nursery was a fiercely competitive race last year. Mick Channon’s ‘Kassia’ took the prize in 2015 – she has won 3 times already this season including the inaugural running of the richest ever handicap staged at Pontefract earlier this season.
In conjunction with Racing UK, Pontefract are offering all subscribers to the channel discounted entry to the Park Suite Restaurant (subject to availability). Anyone wishing to take advantage of this offer should call the Racecourse Office with their Racing UK membership details.
The Racecourse continues to run the Yorkshire Postcode Lottery. The scheme gives racegoers from Yorkshire the chance to come racing in the Grandstand & Paddock Enclosure for just £2. The last two meetings of the season are both part of the promotion, and punters with postcodes from Huddersfield and Bradford will be eligible for cheap entry at forthcoming meetings with Huddersfield postcodes the lucky ones on the 3rd October. The action gets underway at 2.00pm with gates opening at midday.