PONTEFRACT offers more than just good cakes - the standard of racing is also excellent at the popular Yorkshire venue.

Well-known for attracting big crowds, there could easily be 10,000 spectators piling through the turnstiles this evening, some of whom will hopefully be cheering home It's Definite (7.15) in the Tony Bethell Memorial Handicap.

The Alan Jarvis-trained four-year-old showed his liking for the course when scoring over track and trip at the last meeting and as a result now has to shoulder a 6lb penalty for the victory, bringing his weight up to a crushing 10st 4lb for the two-mile-and-one-furlong marathon.

At first glance it is off-putting statistic, although the very fact that It's Definite is dropping in grade from a Class D contest to a Class E race should, theoretically at least, help significantly.

The later £35,000 Listed Pipalong Stakes, run in honour of one of the best fillies to be trained in Yorkshire over the past decade, has attracted a quality field worthy of Tim Easterby's' former stable-star.

The one they all have to beat in the one-mile event is without question Welsh Diva (8.15), winner of three races during 2002, one of which was a similar standard affair at Ascot, as well as going to Milan to snaffle up a decent prize in Italy.

Clearly Amanda's Perrett's raider doesn't mind travelling so the long journey up from Sussex should not present any problems, neither will picking off her rivals judged on the superb performance put up by Welsh Diva at Goodwood in May when she narrowly failed to cope with the much-improved Aldora.

Although Balakiref (9.15) has won over seven furlongs in the past, it looks like the Michael Dods' trained gelding is at his very best over a furlong shorter on a stiffer track.

Pontefract fits the bill using the latter criterion, sadly though Balakiref has been drawn wide in stall 14 and as a consequence must rely on a large slice of luck to weave his way through the pack in the closing Walnut Handicap.

These things have a habit of levelling themselves out and the draw has been kinder to Dods' other runner, Smith N Allan Oils, emerging from berth number eight. He's shaped as if returning to form at Catterick recently, plus has slipped back to a winning mark.

The best advice is to have a small each-way bet on both, especially as most of the yard's horses are running well at present.

As far as the betting public are concerned the 'Fallon' factor has never been more evident than on Saturday when the price of the Derby winner, Kris Kin, dramatically shrunk from 14s to 6-1 as a result of the sustained support for the reigning champion jockey.

Fallon is on duty at Windsor this evening where the layers' face another drubbing since he has several winning opportunities including Isengard (9.00) in the Renault Fillies Handicap.

Fallon extracted his mount from an extremely unpromising position to collect at Chepstow last week and a quick follow-up seems to be very much on the cards despite the opposition being marginally stronger on this occasion.

* Followers of Janus (Colin Woods) raked in the cash at Epsom's Derby meeting on Saturday when three of his seven selections, Parkview Love (11-2), Gateman (13-2), and Loyal Tycoon (13-2) all obliged. And just to add salt in the bookmakers' wounds, 20-1 tip Top Of The Class also lived up to his name by scoring at Haydock.

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