Can Blow Your Horn make it back-to-back Sunday Series wins? Analysis and key quotes

One of the first multiple winners of the often competitive Sunday Series races last season came in the staying division, when Evaluation followed a victory at York in May with another at Musselburgh a fortnight later.

Blow Your Horn bids to emulate him at Pontefract by winning back-to-back Sunday Series staying events two weeks apart. The six-year-old stayed on strongly to score over two miles at Beverley and is now faced with an extra two furlongs on a similar stiff track. This is his first try at this far.

He shaped like he would relish this test at Beverley and now comes here seeking a hat-trick off a mark just 6lb higher than for his first win and 4lb higher than for his last one. A mark of 76 shouldn’t be beyond him given he has won twice off higher ratings.

One who will definitely stay is Flint Hill. He has won three times at this course, including once at this trip, and his form figures at Pontefract are an impressive 12144242143.

He is now 1lb lower than when beaten just a neck in this race last year and comes into it in better form this time. There is every chance he can go one better.

Champagne City is the other course-and-distance winner among the seven runners and that victory came on his only visit to the track, but he is hit-and-miss and has to bounce back from a dismal run at Goodwood last time.
Race analysis by Graeme Rodway

What they say

Rae Guest, trainer of Land Of Winter
We could do with a bit of rain and I hope the thunderstorms come. He’ll probably run anyway but he’d better if it was a bit softer. His last run was a good one at Chester and that was almost good enough to win a race like this, so if we get a drop of rain we’d be very hopeful. We’ve kept the blinkers on as he’s very lazy and it gives the jockey a bit of help.

Ian Williams, trainer of Blow Your Horn
He ran really well at Beverley last time and followed up his previous success at Doncaster. He’s creeping up the weights but hopefully this extra distance will bring about a bit of extra improvement – he stayed well last time. The ground should be fine and it looks a suitable race.

Ruth Jefferson, trainer of Flint Hill
He was just beaten in it last year but it’s a completely different race with not so many runners this time. He’ll be trying his best, he always does, and he ran well last time. He got stopped on the home bend that day but I don’t think he would have beaten the winner. He’s consistent and hopefully will be thereabouts.
Reporting by James Stevens