Timeform UK SmartPlays: Sunday August 19

We kick off with a handicap over one and a half miles at Pontefract, scheduled to go off at 14:45. There isn't much between them on the Timeform figures, but there must be every chance that Godolphin's Muntasir will prove more superior than his being marginally top-rated would imply. He's basically a progressive three-year-old, a winner over this trip at Kempton in early-July before running a good race in defeat to Bridgehampton at Sandown last time. It wasn't the longer trip that proved his undoing there- aided by it if anything, in fact- so Muntasir should relish the stiff climb to the finish at Pontefract and, assuming his progress can continue, he could be tough to stop.

We swing by Southwell for their 15:30, a good-quality handicap hurdle for the time of year, which will be held over an extended three miles. If the standard of race is rare, then unexposed, useful types like Shoegazer are rarer still during the summer. It may be counter-intuitive to use the term unexposed on a horse that has run almost twenty times over jumps, but Shoegazer has often left the impression that there's more to come, rarely more so than when he finished a respectable fifth at Cartmel last time. That day he was given an aggressive ride by Nick Scholfield (who was on board for the first time) and ultimately failed to see things out having been sent on after a mistake three flights from home. The only real concern over Shoegazer giving his running is the unusual style of obstacle on Southwell's hurdles track, resembling the fences he's been prone to a mistake or two over so far this summer, but that's a minor quibble in the grand scheme and it would be a surprise were he not to be right in the mix.

Finally we zip back to Pontefract for their 15:45, a listed race over six furlongs limited to fillies and mares. It's the usual case of progressive younger horses emerging from handicaps against established sorts who have found their level, and in this instance it's the former category that look to hold sway, most notably with Mince and Ultrasonic. Preference is for the first-named, whose emergence at this grade has been a long time coming but finally looked on its way when she landed a competitive handicap on Shergar Cup day at Ascot last week. Admittedly, Mince had the assistance of an inspired Matthew Chadwick in the saddle as she made all, but it's fair to say that today's rider Frankie Dettori has demonstrated more than his fair share of enterprising rides from the front down the years and, if able to progress again, she should go very close.

Timeform SmartPlays
Back Muntasir @ 2.77/4 in the 14:45 at Pontefract
Back Shoegazer @ 6.611/2 in the 15:30 at Southwell
Back Mince @ 4.67/2 in the 15:45 at Pontefract