Tompkins eyes Spring Cup with Petersburg

ST PETERSBURG found just one too good for him on his seasonal bow at Doncaster, but he showed the way home under Philip Robinson in the Pontefract Park Handicap yesterday and is set to step up in class.

Travelling well throughout at the West Yorkshire track, St Petersburg quickened up in good style to lead about a furlong and a half from home and drew away to beat The Bonus King by four lengths.

Trainer Mark Tompkins said: “St Petersburg was unlucky to come up against the horse of Geoff Wragg’s (Autumn Glory) in the Spring Mile at Doncaster. That one is a very nice horse.

“If the ground stays soft we will run St Petersburg in the Newbury Spring Cup. We won’t run him when the ground gets firm.”

The Spring Mile was a consolation race for horses who missed the cut for the Lincoln, which Tompkins won with Babodana, and he added: “As long as the ground stays soft, Babodana will run in the Group Two race (betfred.com Mile) at Sandown on April 24.

“Franklins Gardens will go for the Group Three mile-and-a-quarter race (Betfred Gordon Richards Stakes) on the same day.”

Mark Johnston was leading trainer at Pontefract last season and he made a good start to the current campaign when he and Joe Fanning completed a double with Winged D’Argent and Akash.

But both were desperately close calls, with Winged D’Argent only just holding Tudor Bell by a head in the Yorkshire Racing Club Median Auction Maiden Stakes, while Akash held off Bourgeois by only a short head in the High-Rise Classified Stakes.

Karl Burke stole a march on the opposition when instructing Gavin Faulkner to stay on the far side in the pontefract-races.co.uk Maiden Fillies’ Stakes and the ploy worked as Capetown Girl raced alone and made all the running to score by eight lengths.

Burke said: “Apart from the first race they had come up the stands side. I walked down to the half-mile marker and the ground was cut up badly on that side, so I told Gavin that as he was drawn one, to stay over on the better ground.”

Danny Tudhope gave Declan Carroll’s Benbyas an enterprising ride to win the first round of the betfair.com Apprentice Series Handicap.

Marabar, bought out of the John Akehurst stable for 6,000gns last autumn, gained his first success for Stillington trainer David Chapman in the Jason & Rachel Joint 30th Birthday Selling Stakes.

Tony Culhane brought Marabar with a strong late surge right against the stands rails to lead well inside the final furlong and go on to score nicely by three lengths from Alastair Smellie.