Betweenthesticks has been knocking on the door in recent starts — third last time out and a runner-up two starts back, and he has experience of both today's trip and going. Fresh off a 29-day break at a manageable 138 lb, he looks primed for another bold showing.
Form last 6129623
★AI Rating★★★☆☆
74SR—RPR68OR—Votes
✦AI verdict
SR 74 is competitive — each-way claims if conditions suit on the day.
Winless in his last five starts, Le Beau Garcon nevertheless holds the highest rating in this field at 74, has experience over today's trip and going, and returns fresh just eight days after his latest outing — the risk is that recent form, including a ninth last time out, makes confidence hard to hold.
Form last 60-4509
★AI Rating★★☆☆☆
61SR—RPR67OR—Votes
✦AI verdict
SR 61 suggests ability but 10/1 reflects a stiff ask in this field.
Third on three of his last five starts, Spirit Of Applause brings solid recent consistency to the table, has run over today's trip and going, and arrives fresh on just 12 days' rest carrying 137 lb from stall 4. The main concern is a trainer firing at just 4% in the last fortnight.
Form last 63-4330
★AI Rating★★☆☆☆
73SR—RPR67OR—Votes
✦AI verdict
SR 73 suggests ability but 7/2 reflects a stiff ask in this field.
Winless in his last six starts, with an eighth and ninth among recent finishes, Sam's Xpress faces a stiff ask ranked eighth of ten on our figures, though he has run over today's trip and going before and returns on a sharp 11-day turnaround from stall one.
Form last 6336958
★AI Rating★★☆☆☆
64SR—RPR66OR—Votes
✦AI verdict
SR 64 suggests ability but 8/1 reflects a stiff ask in this field.
Third last time out and a winner three starts back, Great arrives on a quick turnaround just four days after his latest run, has experience over today's trip and going, and our rating of 73 suggests he holds strong claims — the chief concern is that fifth two starts back hints at inconsistency.
Form last 6787153
★AI Rating★★★☆☆
70SR—RPR65OR—Votes
✦AI verdict
SR 70 is competitive — each-way claims if conditions suit on the day.
Sea Her Excel won last time out and has experience of today's trip and conditions, but her trainer is badly out of form at just 4% in the last 14 days, which tempers enthusiasm for a filly who rates marginally ahead of her official mark.
Form last 6-03151
★AI Rating★★☆☆☆
64SR—RPR67OR—Votes
✦AI verdict
SR 64 suggests ability but 14/1 reflects a stiff ask in this field.
Winless in his last five starts, with a third four starts back his best recent effort, Riffa Spirit has been below that level since and faces a stiff task from stall six carrying 133 lb, though he returns quickly on familiar distance and going.
Form last 6-43876
★AI Rating★☆☆☆☆
48SR—RPR66OR—Votes
✦AI verdict
SR 48 is modest for this company — needs everything to go right at 22/1.
Sixth last time out and rated a lowly 60, Bibendum is hard to fancy ranked ninth of ten on our figures, though he did score two starts back and has experience of today's trip and going.
Form last 6045016
★AI Rating★★☆☆☆
57SR—RPR60OR—Votes
✦AI verdict
SR 57 suggests ability but 12/1 reflects a stiff ask in this field.
Missmimi returns after a 256-day absence — a significant concern — and ranks last on our figures in a field of ten. She has run over today's distance and going, and a win two starts back offers a sliver of hope, but she's very hard to fancy on this evidence.
Form last 662310-
★AI Rating★★☆☆☆
53SR—RPR60OR—Votes
✦AI verdict
SR 53 suggests ability but 20/1 reflects a stiff ask in this field.
Returned to form with a third three starts back and a winner four starts back, The Tunguska Event arrives fit on a 14-day turnaround with distance and going experience in his favour; a mark of 63 and 130 lb to carry may blunt his chance.
Form last 6121364
★AI Rating★★★☆☆
71SR—RPR63OR—Votes
✦AI verdict
SR 71 is competitive — each-way claims if conditions suit on the day.
Prices update each odds sync. Green ▼ = shortened (steamer),
Red ▲ = drifted, Blue = = unchanged since last sync.
Best column highlights the bookmaker offering the longest price.
Spirit Of Applause owns one of the strongest chamber scores in this field. The Balanced lens likes the blend of SR strength (41) and market confidence (86). The profile stays composed even after the chamber introduces race-day variance.
3/1Tim EasterbyDavid Allan
65%Confidence
⚠ Danger Runner
Betweenthesticks
Nearest rival if the simulation drifts off the primary path.
9/2 · Ruth Carr✓ Value Signal
Riffa Spirit
Strongest upside if you want a less obvious route through the field.
25/1 · Declan Carroll◈ Chamber Memory
Balanced
Even weighting across form, market confidence and race-day volatility.
Betweenthesticks (SR 74, 10/3) is the highest-rated horse in the field and holds a clear SR advantage over the next-best rivals Spirit Of Applause (SR 73) and The Tunguska Event (SR 71). Crucially, the course form is outstanding — Course:W2P4 at Pontefract is a specialist's record that matters enormously on a track with a unique, punishing uphill finish that rewards proven course performers. Running off the same mark as last win (MarkMv:=), carrying top-weight of 9-12 which is manageable at Class 5 on good-to-firm ground, and with a 6% market move inward confirming stable confidence, the case stacks up across SR, course expertise, and market signals. Ruth Carr's 10% yard strike rate with James Sullivan (7%) is modest, but the horse's own course record overrides connections concerns here.
Each-way alternative: The Tunguska Event.
Main danger: Spirit Of Applause — Spirit Of Applause (SR 73, 7/2) has steamed in 13% in the market — the strongest inward move in the field — drops a class (ClassMv:↓1), and Tim Easterby's yard has form at this level; if blinkers sharpen her up from a 3-4330 sequence, she is capable of reversing the narrow SR deficit with Betweenthesticks.
ShortlistBetweenthesticks, Spirit Of Applause, The Tunguska Event
Each-way: The Tunguska EventDanger: Spirit Of Applause