August 06 / 15.30 Pontefract

15.30

Good

RIU Hotels And Resorts Ladies Day Veterans’ Handicap

  • Prize money: £5234
  • 1m 0f 6y
  • Class 4
  • 7 runners
RTV
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RIU Hotels And Resorts Ladies Day Veterans’ Handicap

Runners: 7 runners

Type: Flat Turf

Surface: Turf

Weather: Partly cloudy

4/1 (Won)

  • Win: £4.34
  • Place: £1.80

Form: -41165 CD

Last run: 18 days

W: 9st 11lb

10 yo Gelding

OR: 80

Form & Verdict
Front-runner; the veteran of 13 wins, seven at Ripon where he's seen most often (he's 1-9 here); two wins this spring and ran respectably on latest start, so he has to be considered.
Place /
No / Draw
Date / Going /
Distance / Class
Time + Course Horse + Weight
Jockey / Trainer
Verdict Starting price

8th

10

(2)

28th May 2026

Good

1m 1f 170y

Class 3

15:40 Ripon

Garden Oasis

8st 8lb

J: Duran Fentiman

T: Tim Easterby

Front-running 11yo with seven course wins, the latest gained over 1m (good) last spring; creditable placed efforts on his last three starts (including C&D) and should give it another good shot, for all this is a higher grade than he's been contesting.

7/1

3rd

9

(6)

20th May 2026

Good To Firm

1m 0f 0y

Class 4

15:42 Ayr

Garden Oasis

9st 4lb

J: Duran Fentiman

T: Tim Easterby

11yo who won three times last year, including this race (good to firm); this front-runner has been placed at Pontefract (1m, good) and Ripon (1m2f, good) on his last two starts; 3-5 at Ayr and he's on the shortlist.

8/1

3rd

2

(7)

8th May 2026

Good To Soft

1m 1f 170y

Class 5

19:45 Ripon

Garden Oasis

9st 9lb

J: David Allan

T: Tim Easterby

14-time winner including seven times at Ripon; his last success was off 5lb higher last summer and he returned to form with a second at Pontefract (1m, good) last month; hasn't run over this far for a long time but he used to be effective at this trip and most of his wins have been in May-August.

8/1

14/1

  • Place: £3.70

Form: -80830

Last run: 39 days

W: 8st 12lb

6 yo Gelding

OR: 67

Form & Verdict
Won two in a row on AW late last year; underperforming this year (May-June) sees him 7lb lower today than on reappearance, but his only turf win (19 attempts) was on debut in 2022.
Place /
No / Draw
Date / Going /
Distance / Class
Time + Course Horse + Weight
Jockey / Trainer
Verdict Starting price

5th

7

(5)

31st May 2026

Good

1m 0f 75y

Class 5

17:25 Nottingham

Bass Player

8st 9lb

J: William Pyle

T: Kevin & Lauren Frost

Ended 2025 with two good runs but he has been well short of that level in two runs this year, a wind op before the latest making no difference; tongue tie returns; risky despite his reduced mark.

20/1

11th

9

(8)

8th May 2026

Good To Soft

1m 1f 170y

Class 5

19:45 Ripon

Bass Player

8st 11lb

J: William Pyle

T: Kevin Frost

First win was on turf (7f) and last two have been on Tapeta (8.6f); reached the frame in two starts at Wolverhampton in December but he had a major blip there the following month; had another wind operation since and needs a major revival after four months off.

12/1

OUR TIP

Form: 323145 D

Last run: 12 days

W: 9st 8lb

10 yo Gelding

OR: 77

Form & Verdict
Admirable veteran who's an infrequent winner these days and this season's win came in a seller; he's rarely been far away this term, however.
Place /
No / Draw
Date / Going /
Distance / Class
Time + Course Horse + Weight
Jockey / Trainer
Verdict Starting price

2

(3)

27th Oct 2025

Standard

1m 1f 104y

Class 5

20:00 Wolverhampton (AW)

Orbaan

9st 12lb

J: Sean Levey

T: David O’Meara

Veteran who dipped into a seller for his latest win, at Beverley (8.4f, good to firm) in July; current handicap mark is workable but his AW strike-rate is 0-13 and he needs to rebound from two down-the-field runs.

16/1

2

(3)

27th Oct 2025

Standard

1m 1f 104y

Class 5

20:00 Wolverhampton (AW)

Orbaan

9st 12lb

J: Sean Levey

T: David O’Meara

Veteran who dipped into a seller for his latest win, at Beverley (8.4f, good to firm) in July; current handicap mark is workable but his AW strike-rate is 0-13 and he needs to rebound from two down-the-field runs.

16/1

6

(11)

14th Oct 2025

Standard

1m 0f 1y

Class 4

16:00 Lingfield (AW)

Orbaan

9st 9lb

J: J F Egan

T: David O’Meara

Veteran who won a Beverley seller in July; some fair handicap runs since but others may have his measure back on AW (0-12 in this sphere).

12/1

7/1

Form: 259225 D

Last run: 30 days

W: 8st 12lb

6 yo Gelding

OR: 67

Form & Verdict
A Newcastle (AW) success story for this yard but he was also runner-up on turf on consecutive starts this summer (Ripon and C&D); latest outing did not go so well (at Ripon) and he needs to bounce back from that.
Place /
No / Draw
Date / Going /
Distance / Class
Time + Course Horse + Weight
Jockey / Trainer
Verdict Starting price

4th

9

(12)

2nd Jun 2026

Standard

1m 0f 5y

Class 6

20:45 Newcastle (AW)

Volenti

9st 4lb

J: Andrew Mullen

T: Ben Haslam

Four C&D wins, including when justifying favouritism in January 2025; in reasonable form on turf this time last year (from marks in mid 60s) but has lost his way since then, tumbling down the handicap; latest Ripon fourth (beaten 8l) isn't enough to tempt.

7/1

4th

8

(11)

17th May 2026

Good

1m 0f 0y

Class 6

16:50 Ripon

Volenti

9st 7lb

J: Andrew Mullen

T: Ben Haslam

Has four wins on Newcastle AW but is only 1-19 on turf; never figured on return to turf when seventh of nine at Pontefract (1m, good) in cheekpieces (left off here) last month; needs to show more.

16/1

7th

8

(7)

29th Apr 2026

Good

1m 0f 6y

Class 6

17:08 Pontefract

Volenti

8st 12lb

J: Harry Vigors

T: Ben Haslam

Last of his five wins came 15 months ago and he struggled after close fourth over C&D (good to firm) in August; falling mark a help if he can stage a revival after three-month break; market check advised.

20/1

Form: 11-696 CD

Last run: 19 days

W: 8st 9lb

8 yo Gelding

OR: 64

Form & Verdict
Seven-time turf winner, including of his final four starts last season (7.4f-1m in August/September); took a step back towards that form on latest run but another is needed, still 4lb above his last winning mark.
Place /
No / Draw
Date / Going /
Distance / Class
Time + Course Horse + Weight
Jockey / Trainer
Verdict Starting price

8

(7)

16th Sep 2025

Good To Firm

0m 7f 219y

Class 5

16:35 Redcar

Captain Corelli

9st 7lb

J: Callum Rodriguez

T: Julie Camacho

Completed a hat-trick of wins in this race a year ago (good to firm; 2lb lower mark); not in such good form this season and probably best watched for now.

12/1

9th

6

(8)

24th Aug 2025

Good To Firm

1m 0f 100y

Class 5

16:20 Beverley

Captain Corelli

9st 6lb

J: Joe Fanning

T: Julie Camacho

Ran up a four-timer around this time last year, including two course wins, latterly off a 3lb lower mark; back in form last time and has a fair chance of making it 4-8 round here.

8/1

8/1

Form: 625386 D

Last run: 27 days

W: 8st 11lb

6 yo Gelding

OR: 66

Form & Verdict
Two wins on AW but 0-17 on turf; second and third over C&D in the spring off slightly higher marks than this, before lesser efforts elsewhere on last two outings; well treated if back on song.
Place /
No / Draw
Date / Going /
Distance / Class
Time + Course Horse + Weight
Jockey / Trainer
Verdict Starting price

2

(4)

23rd Aug 2025

Good To Firm

1m 2f 1y

Class 5

17:30 Redcar

Paris Lights

10st 1lb

J: David Nolan

T: Paul Midgley

Both wins on AW and 0-18 on turf; a couple of Pontefract runs this spring that bring him into the reckoning and this is effectively his first run at this level since winning at Newcastle in December; should run his race.

7/2

6th

7

(2)

6th Aug 2025

Good

1m 0f 6y

Class 4

15:30 Pontefract

Paris Lights

8st 11lb

J: Jason Hart

T: Paul Midgley

Two wins on AW but 0-17 on turf; second and third over C&D in the spring off slightly higher marks than this, before lesser efforts elsewhere on last two outings; well treated if back on song.

8/1

6th

2

(7)

10th Jul 2025

Good To Soft

0m 7f 213y

Class 5

17:30 Doncaster

Paris Lights

10st 0lb

J: David Nolan

T: Paul Midgley

Two wins on AW but 0-16 on turf; twice placed at Pontefract this season but he needs to rebound from a lacklustre effort at Ripon (1m2f, good) three weeks ago.

16/1

Form: 125210 D

Last run: 11 days

W: 9st 10lb

7 yo Gelding

OR: 79

Form & Verdict
Usually held up; won twice in May and at Ripon (under Cian Horgan) in July on penultimate start; form dipped 11 days ago on latest but in a much more competitive race at York; likely to bounce back with a solid run.
Place /
No / Draw
Date / Going /
Distance / Class
Time + Course Horse + Weight
Jockey / Trainer
Verdict Starting price

5th

6

(3)

26th May 2026

Good

0m 7f 219y

Class 4

15:50 Redcar

Cosmos Raj

9st 1lb

J: Mark Winn

T: David O’Meara

Closely-matched with Classic Encounter on their form at York last June (1m1f, good to firm); bit disappointing since Ripon win in July (1m, good to soft), although excuses for poor reappearance run (blindfold removed late).

20/1

9th

7

(4)

29th Apr 2026

Good

1m 0f 6y

Class 4

15:23 Pontefract

Cosmos Raj

9st 1lb

J: Cian Horgan

T: David O’Meara

Three wins last May/July at about 1m on various ground and he's back down to his last winning mark; ended 2025 quietly and there's a suspicion he'll improve for this comeback run; withdrawn after getting upset in the stalls at Ripon two weeks ago (25-1 at the time).

25/1

8

(7)

16th Apr 2026

Good

1m 0f 0y

Class 4

17:25 Ripon

Cosmos Raj

9st 7lb

J: Mason Paetel

T: David O’Meara

Three wins last May/July at about 1m on various ground and he's back down to his last winning mark; may have been ready for a break towards end of last season but there's a suspicion he'll improve for this comeback run.

9/1

Non-runners

Distinction

+o+e Accumulators

Payout
Exacta £28.70
Straight Forecast £27.47
Tricast £71.13
Trifecta £89.00

Selections

SPOTLIGHT:

Cosmos Raj

D Express:

Captain Corelli

Daily Mail:

Garden Oasis

The Times:

Volenti

Telegraph:

Paris Lights

The Guardian:

Distinction

Daily Mirror:

Orbaan

RP RATINGS:

Cosmos Raj

TOPSPEED:

Cosmos Raj

POSTDATA:

Cosmos Raj

The Sun:

Cosmos Raj

The Star:

Captain Corelli

Daily Record:

Garden Oasis