Abingdon out to defy long absence in quality Castle renewal

Pontefract stages one of its most prestigious meetings of the year on Sunday, with the feature being the £45,000 Listed totepool Pontefract Castle Fillies' Stakes.

The major attraction is Abingdon, twice a winner already at this level in her six starts and with an official rating 8lb higher than her nearest rival. But, as Peter Reynolds of owners Ballymacoll Stud pointed out on Saturday: "She's a good mare but she'll need the run as she hasn't been out since the St Leger meeting last year."

He added: "We're hoping the ground stays good or thereabouts."

Those little doubts open the door to most of her seven rivals, among them Shearling, who was a classy bumper performer and now makes her Flat debut for Brian Ellison.

Ellison said: "She did well in bumpers and was unlucky not to finish in the first three in the Grade 2 mares' bumper at Aintree. She's been working well at home and it's a big ask first time, but it'll be interesting to see where she finishes."

With regards to where this might lead, he added: "We'll take it from Sunday really, but she's a lovely mare and would make a good hurdler if we were to go that way with her, although I'm keener on that than the owner."

Also in the field are Yorkidding, who ran a rare below-form race in Tuesday's Ascot Stakes, and the unbeaten Signe.

Signe made her debut in February and has won three times in all, most recently a handicap at Newbury off a mark of 81. The longer trip is likely to help – she is by Sea The Stars and a close relative of Fillies' Mile winner Together Forever.

Course delighted and prepared

Pontefract's course manager Norman Gundill said: "We're absolutely delighted with the field for the Listed race. It was struggling a couple of years back, we almost lost its status, but we had a good year last year."

He went on to explain the change in race conditions this year, saying: "Most of the runners had tended to be fillies anyway and the BHA came back to us and suggested it might do better as a race for fillies only. We've done it that way this year for the first time and it's brought in a brilliant field."

He continued: "This meeting would be up there with our other two Sundays. All of them have a Listed race and all of them have over £100,000 in prize-money on offer."

Gundill is also joint clerk of the course and described the condition of the track as good to firm.

"There's a great covering of grass and it's in tremendous condition, but we've had no rain to speak of the last fortnight and so we've been putting a lot of water down," he said.

That is some operation at the nation's longest circuit, as Gundill revealed: "We're putting on 5mm today. They started at 8am and should finish by 4pm. At that point the last six furlongs might be on the good side of good to firm, but we're forecast dry and windy weather so I would be very surprised if it wasn't good to firm ground once we come to race."

Pontefract card