Sunday Horse Racing Tips: Santorini to star again in Ponty double

• Goodwood  win for Santorini Star puts her in pole position for feature

• Drop in trip to 6f to work for Camacho's Havana

• Alan Dudman delves into Sunday's card at Pontefract with two tips 

Pontefract - 15:40: Back Santorini Star @ 7/42.75

After a reasonable first two days at Royal Ascot the week tapered out - and we could have done with that whisker of Rosallion's being a bit longer in the Queen Anne, as that would have set us up nicely for a treble. After that, the final two days were a struggle, and trying to explain to a first-time Ascot goer the nonsense of the draw bias completely changing in 24 hours, is a wholly unsatisfactory situation for a meeting which is hard enough to crack without that added draw puzzle bonus. 

Well done to anyone who found some of the bigger prices, but it turned into a bit of a lottery and it seemed the jockeys had no idea where to go either. The P and L took a bit of a hit late on, but I wouldn't have found some of those bigger ones with 50 tries. 

At least we don't have that problem for Pontefract (he says). 

Santorini Star is Timeform top weighted for the feature Pontefract Castle Listed race, and fully deserves to be at the top of the betting tree having beaten a few of today's rivals last time at Goodwood in a performance of staying merit.

That marked her continued progression and she's stepped up from her winter form on the All-Weather to take Goodwood and Brighton handicaps from 83 and 89.

Indeed, tapping into the Timeform speed figures from Goodwood; she earned a 101+ which was 4lbs better than her previous run at Brighton, although with the standard of racing there by the seaside track normally, a speed figure like that makes her look like Dayjur. 

While Goodwood and Pontefract are contrasting styles with more stamina needed than zip for Sunday, Santorini Star ground out the victory and wasn't exactly stopping, thus earning one of the better closing sectionals and superior to Beset, Overture and Meribella who all take on each other again. 

She's by the "crowd pleaser" sire Golden Horn, who John Gosden one described as running through a brick wall for you. Santorini Star has some of that willing and I think she could be even better granted a truer test at a stiffer track.

She shaped that way winning at Brighton over 1m2f in late April, also a home win for her owner Tony Bloom.

She's 2-2 on turf, both on the quicker side and her first try over 1m4f last time yielded her best display.

I'd like a bigger price, but with the trainer there's a bit of a Haggas tax, but she's beaten most of her rivals before and can do so again for her excellent sire and Haggas had a 25% strike rate at Pontefract.

Pontefract - 16:50: Back Havana Blue @ 6/17.00

Talking of sires, Havana Grey struck gold again at the Royal meeting and you can set your clock by him producing a fast one.

Havana Blue, son of Grey, held his form pretty well in his eight runs of 2024 - and probably deserved to come away from the year with more than his Beverley win.

It was good to firm on the Westwood last summer and he showed a good attitude to reel in and mow down Saeed Bin Suroor's Olympic Candle, and with the front two well clear and winning from 84, he should be up to winning again at a stiff track.

His comeback run for the season at Doncaster was his first for nine months and after a wind op, and you'd like to think he'd be able to improve on that run. After all, he was a drifter to a big price 18/1, so I'd like to see him stronger in the market obviously and was a 6/17.00 poke last night. 

A fourth last September in a Premier Handicap at Leopardstown over 7f in a far stronger class of handicap looks a bit of a standout and the angle of him coming down to sprinting and dropping from 7f to 6f looks well worth exploring.

His trainer Julie Camacho has a 14% win rate and 30% placed at the track.

May winners at BSP:

Falakeyah 2.66
Cinderella's Dream 2.58
Seraphim Angel (place) 2.79
Sea Invasion 3.42
Jabbar (place) 2.72
La Trinidad 6.35 (place)
Carmers 2.77
Glamorous Breeze 7.92
Socialite 4.75
Opera Ballo 2.54
Sunlit Uplands 6.0
Glory Hyde 5.7

Winning May doubles

30th May 34/1 Sunlit Uplands and Glory Hyde

June winners at BSP:

White Clover 9.04
Petra Celera (place) 3.25
Jabbar (place) 4.84
Zahraan 3.77
Jan Brueghel 5.41
Stormy Impact win 10.44, (place) 2.5
Circus Of Rome win 7.09, (place) 2.5
Powerful Nation 2.4
Heathen (place) 3.3
Petra Celera 5.91
Field Of Gold 1.79
Gstaad 5.36
Carmers 6.6
Charles Darwin 1.77

Winning doubles in June

17th June 7/1 Field Of Gold and Gstaad

Now read more tips and previews here for Sunday!