Pontefract 3:38 Result

Devil's Brigade has the strongest, most consistent maiden form in the field - 532-2, showing he's been knocking on the door and finished a close second last time out just 23 days ago, keeping fresh with a sensible gap. He carries an official rating of 74, matched only by River Nile, and his page (Calyx out of a Galileo mare) suggests he'll be well suited to this mile trip, stepping up nicely from his previous distances. Ed Dunlop is a shrewd trainer with maidens and Rowan Scott takes over - the yard clearly think enough of him to keep campaigning him at a suitable level. He looks the one they all have to beat on pure form. River Nile (7) is the obvious market rival with the same OR of 74 and fair recent form (6-33), by Teofilo out of a Dubawi mare for a powerful Balding/Watson team, but her third-place finishes suggest she's just workmanlike rather than progressive, and she hasn't got the placed-and-close profile that Devil's Brigade shows. The rest look moderate: Morty Robinson (0, 5) is exposed at 6 with modest recent form; Casement Park and Jetpack Jimmy have unconvincing form figures (0, 09); L'Isle De Bois is an unraced/no-form runner for a small yard, hard to trust fresh; Fan Me was well held last time out and is returning from a break of 420 days, a big query. Devil's Brigade's combination of proven man form at/near this trip, a solid rating, and a yard in form gives him a clear edge as the one most likely to go one better today.