'It's a good little race but it's trappy' - which sprinter will come out on top?

Sunday: 2.39 Wolverhampton
BetUK's Acca Club £5 Free Bet Handicap | 5f | 3yo+ | Sky

North Yorkshire is well represented in this seven-strong field, of which recent Southwell winners Alligator Alley and Bedford Flyer look the most likely to follow up.

The former scored a timely win at the expense of Khabib last time in a race that is already working out well, and he could run a nice race for the in-form team of David O'Meara and Jason Watson from stall 2.

Bedford Flyer accounted for the same rival when springing a bit of a surprise over this trip last month for Les Eyre, but will be having his first outing at Dunstall Park having done most of his running on straight tracks.

Others of note include the veteran Venturous who is just a fortnight away from his tenth birthday and may well need his first run back since August for the David and Nicola Barron combination.

Last year's winner Tone The Barone cannot be discounted after a recent prep run back and he dispatched none other than subsequent triple Group 1 winner Highfield Princess at this track in March, with today's rival Alligator Alley finishing third that day.

Also from Newmarket is the Alice Haynes-trained Strong Power who was a winner over six furlongs here on his penultimate start and did not fare badly when seventh in a Listed race at Lingfield last time.

In first-time cheekpieces, the five-year-old could well outrun his odds.
Race analysis by David Milnes

What they say

Stuart Williams, trainer of Tone The Barone
I was happy with him last time as it was a nice run back. He won the race last year, Wolverhampton seems to suit him and I've got a good jockey booked again [Daniel Muscutt], so we'd be hopeful of a good run.

Nicola Barron, joint-trainer of Venturous
He's been a good old boy but he's getting older and we'll have to see how he gets on. Hopefully, we'll get another winter out of him as he's been holding his form. While he's won at the track, his best form has come at Newcastle but you have to go where the races are with a rating like his.

Les Eyre, trainer of Bedford Flyer
I was pleased with him at Southwell last time as he fought back to win and would have probably needed it. We could probably have done with a better draw [six], but he's fit enough to do himself justice.

David O'Meara, trainer of Alligator Alley
He won nicely last time. He's a very fast horse who likes a good pace to aim at, which he got last time. He likes a bit of cover but small fields don't bother him too much as he ends up not too far off the pace if he's sat out the back. He's run well at Wolverhampton before, so he'll have no problems with the track.

Sean Quinn, assistant trainer of Lord Riddiford
It's a good little race, but it looks trappy. He's in good form, although he's still a bit higher on the all-weather than he is on turf. He ran well last time and has a good draw [one] and we'll hopefully make use of it.
Reporting by Andrew Dietz

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