Ascot, Pontefract and Carlisle

the card on the third day of Ascot´s July meeting is clearly inferior to yesterday´s and the main events are two valuable handicaps. In the 1 1/2 mile race at 17.35 CET Mark Johnston is represented by wo runners with chnces, th improving 3yo Bay Willow (Joe Fanning) and Ascot specialist Record Breaker (Richard Hills), both with chances; the former was beaten by Times Up (John Dunlop/ Jamie Spencer) last time at Newmarket, but is now better off. Opera Gal, a 3yo filly trained by Andrew Balding and ridden by Franny Norton looks very dangerous off bottom weight.

Balding also has a fancied runner in the 5 furlongs sprint at 18.10 in Rapid Water (Simon Pearce), who is out of the great Lochsong, but this a very tough race with 21 runners. Rowe Park (Linda Jewell/ Alan Munro) beat Monsieur Jo (Walter Swinburn/ Eddie Ahern) by a neck over this CD last time and could be little in it again. Top-weight Hamish McGonagall (Tim Easterby/ David Allan) and Masamah (Kevin Ryan/ Spencer) are others to be considered. The card opns with a 6 furlongs ace for unraced 2yo´s. Mark Johnston saddls Mltage (Richard Hills) hre, a 100,000 guinbs yearling who is hlg-brother to the top Grman miler Martillo. Although Johnston´s juveniles are not yet firing on all cylinders, this one might be very interesting.

Suggestions that the Sir Michael Stoute stable might be out of form were firmly refuted yesterday and he can land a double at Pontefract this afternoon with Zacinto in the main event, a listed race over a mile at 16.50 and Entitled in a maiden over the same trip at 18.00, both partnered by stable jockey Ryan Moore.

The main feature at Carlisle is a 1 1/2 miles handicap for lady amateur riders and many of the principals from yesterday´s lady´s race at Ascot again, including trainer Brian Ellison and jockey Serena Brotherton, who scored with Rosko, can follow up with Overrule. Nina Carberry, on Alan Swinbank´s Oneofapear, Katie Walsh, on Tom Dascombe´s Brouhaha and Vicky Fahey on her husband´s The Last Alzao are the obvious threats.