Eilean Dubh chases £100,000 bonus in Sky Bet Sunday Series

Karl Burke's Yorkshire team may have struck gold at Royal Ascot this week, but they won't have to go so far on Sunday to hunt down an even bigger financial prize when Eilean Dubh goes for the £100,000 bonus on offer to connections of any horse who wins three times during the Sky Bet Sunday Series.

The latest Sky Bet Sunday Series meeting takes centre-stage at Pontefract on Sunday afternoon with the seven-race card live on ITV and Racing TV. The action gets underway at 3.45pm and concludes at 6.45pm.

The ground at the track is reported as Good to Firm, Good in places with watering taking place to maintain the ground.

Successful on the first Sky Bet Sunday Series card at Hamilton, Eilean Dubh powered to an impressive victory in the Sky Bet Sunday Series Mile Handicap at York last moth.

The four-year-old, who now runs off a career-high rating of 90, shoulders joint-top weight in the final race on the card, the £30,000 Sky Bet Sunday Series Sprint Handicap over six furlongs - this will be the first time that the colt has raced over as short a distance since his two-year-old days.

The bonus that Burke and the colt's owners are chasing is part of a number of extra incentives for this year’s £1.2m series, with £100,000 also up for grabs for any jockey to ride seven winners in the series, £25,000 to the first trainer to train seven winners in the series and a number of prizes on offer for stable staff.

Eilean Dubh is set to face 17 rivals, including the progressive Il Bandito who backed up victory at Redcar in April with a narrow victory at York last month for rising star of the training ranks James Horton. Course and distance scorers Bergerac, Corinthia Knight and Music Society are others to note.

Elsewhere on the card, the highlight is the £77,500 Listed Sky Bet Sunday Series Pontefract Castle Fillies’ Stakes (4.45pm). The William Haggas-trained Bartzella looks to cap fine week for Danny Tudhope following Royal Ascot glory.

The four-year-old scored at Ascot last term and returned to action with a narrow success in Listed company at Goodwood in April.

Others who warrant a mention include By Starlight for Henry Candy following a fourth-placed effort in Group Three company last time out and Glentarney who was fourth to Bartzella at Goodwoood on her seasonal reappearance.

The £30,000 Sky Bet Sunday Series Middle-Distance Handicap over an extended 12 furlongs at 5.45pm has attracted eight runners, including Fishable, second for Tim Easterby at Ripon last time out.

Charlie and Mark Johnston are doubly represented with Enfranchise, who has filled third on her last three starts, and Approachability who played an unwanted role in one of the most remarkable events of the season so far when headbutting jockey William Buick in the adjacent starting stall before finishing ninth on Derby day at Epsom last time out.