Paul Kealy's play of the day at Newmarket

Pogo
1.50 Newmarket

Course specialist Pogo looked the obvious bet in the Cavani Menswear Fashion Face-Off Frenzy Criterion Stakes (1.50) at Newmarket on Monday as the ground was fast and the mud-loving Aldaary needed plenty to go his way to get his ground.

At least some did because a mixture of watering and 11mm of rain on Thursday morning turned to going to officially good to soft, although the times suggested it wasn't quite that bad, and a couple of largely dry days since will have been against him.

He's very much the one to beat if the ground is on the easy side, but it has been 420 days since he last ran and he is yet to win on ground without the words soft or heavy somewhere in the description, his best form on slow ground being the best part of a stone to superior to what he has done on quicker.

I'm backing Pogo whatever the case, though, as he comes alive at Newmarket, where his form figures on both courses read 1112221.

He has won both starts on the July course easily, including this race last year, and despite another Group 2 success on the Rowley Mile in October, is not saddled with a penalty.

It's true he hasn't shown his best in three runs in 2023, but two of them came when chasing massive prizes in Riyadh and Meydan, and the other was when held up in last week's Queen Anne at Ascot.

Front-running over 7f at Newmarket is what suits him best and that's what he is going to be doing here.

Pogo13:50 Newmarket (July)

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Jky: Kieran Shoemark Tnr: Charles Hills

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