French Grade 2 winner Purplepay returns to Britain after Australia trip for £28,000 Pontefract Listed Stakes

The first race at the West Yorkshire track arrives at 2.10pm with a Class 6 Nursery for two-year-olds and rounds off with a seven-runner handicap for horses older than three.

In the first Nursery race, Keep Warm enters the handicaps for the first time and looks to be well treated off the back of finishing third in a maiden at Carlisle 13 days ago. Kandy House also makes a handicap debut, but has not kicked on since a solid third on his first start at Ripon in April. Another debutant handicapper of interest is Time Signature, who wears a visor for the first time.

Race two is a Maiden Stakes for three-year-old’s and older and it looks to be all about Star Ahoy, a well-bred son of Sea The Stars who has hit the frame in his last two runs.

Upped in trip here to 1m2f, he looks the one to beat with Tom Marquand on board for trainer William Haggs. Iron Lion, who has placed on all three of his starts so far, looks the chief threat.

A Fillies’ & Mares’ listed contest worth £28,000 is the third race on the card at 3.20 where Purplepay returns to the track after a three-month break. Having had a couple of races in Australia but failing to fire, the Haggs-trained four-year-old is back on British shores and having a massive step down in calls here means she is easily the one to beat.

Roger Varian sends Zenga and Fall In Love who are the main threats, but Purplepay should be too good.

Last year’s Ayr Gold Cup winner Summerghand will be looking for a return to that form when he lines up in the Class 2 Handicap at 3.55. The only three-year-old in the race, Kitai, is of interest having been a course and distance winner in his maiden last summer while Irish raider Earls, for Gavin Cromwell, drops down in trip and could well be in the mix.

Race five at 4.30 sees Spritzin’ make his debut in the handicaps, markedly up in distance to 1m4f having raced exclusively over a mile on the all-weather in his first three career starts.

Billy No Mates has been dropped 2lb after his last run in the handicaps and is well in contention here at a big price and Cosmic View has strong claims, having finished second over course and distance just a week ago.

The finale for the card is a seven-runner handicap at 5.05, where Paternoster Square will look to back up his second place at Windsor switching to handicaps. Hi Clare, who has finished outside of the top three just once in six starts, has won over course and distance earlier this season and looks the chief rival to Paternoster Square.

Preview courtesy of Racing TV