Golden Apollo took the day's big sprint, the £100,000 Catherine Kinloch Paver Memorial Charity Sprint. Check out our report, reaction from connections and watch the free video replay.
1530 York - Catherine Kinloch Paver Memorial Macmillan Charity Handicap result
1st Golden Apollo 5/1
2nd The Wagon Wheel 20/1
3rd Justanotherbottle 20/1
4th Poet's Society 33/1
5th Ekhtiyaar 5/2 favourite
Report
Plan B paid off for Tim Easterby after Golden Apollo justified strong support to take one of the biggest three-year-old sprint handicaps of the season under Jimmy Sullivan.
The 5/1 winner was the only horse to come in for any meaningful support in opposition to the strongly-fancied favourite Ekhtiyaar.
Two furlongs out, Golden Apollo looked to be going nowhere fast on the far side of the pack from his stall one draw, as Justanotherbottle - tipped each-way by our Value Bet column at 25/1 - took the lead from early pacesetter Carlton Frankie and burst a couple of lengths clear.
Justanotherbottle still looked set to score with 150 yards to race, but the complexion of the picture changed as Golden Apollo and the Richard Fahey-trained The Wagon Wheel emerged down the middle of the track to fight out the finish for the £100,000 prize.
It was tight, but Golden Apollo held on to score by a neck, with Justanotherbottle third, Poet's Society closing out a Yorkshire-trained 1-2-3-4 and Ekhtiyaar fifth for any each-way backers who played with Sky Bet.
Easterby revealed after the race that he'd feared his hope of getting Golden Apollo into the race might have been scuppered. Fearing correctly that his handicap mark wouldn't prove high enough to make the cut, he'd taken the gelding to Wetherby 11 days ago to pick up a weight penalty only for Golden Apollo to finish just third
Instead, the horse was sent to Pontefract on Monday, where he did deliver as expected and that five-length success highlighted his prospects for this contest.
For owner David Scott, the decision to abandon a holiday cruise two days early and fly back to Britain in time to watch the race, proved fully vindicated.
Click here to watch the free video replay of the race
Reaction
Tim Easterby: "He was always a nice horse last year. He should have won at Hamilton but didn't quite get there. He got it right eventually at Doncaster.
"We couldn't get to run him early as he doesn't like really firm ground and there was a danger he wasn't going to get in the race.
"The plan was to go to Wetherby and win, but he got beat there so we had to go to Pontefract.
"I was never bothered about the draw (one). I was very happy drawn there. He's a horse that comes off the bridle and picks up, so I told James not to panic, but he rode a really good race on him. He just got there, it was a bit close.
"He wants soft ground. It was only just all right today. I'd like to run him in the Ayr Gold Cup one day, but it would have to be soft."
Jimmy Sullivan: "I can't believe it! The Easterby team were thinking that the ground might be a worry, but he seemed to handle it well.
"When he won at Pontefract, the penalty got him in the race. It's great for the stable and for me too.
"A few years ago, there used to be some good horses with light weights that you could pick up a ride on, but with the handicapping system the way it is, the races are tighter than they used to be and there aren't so many rides, so when a good horse like this gets 8st 3lb it gives those of us who can do lighter weights a chance."