Make Me King crowned Pomfret hero at Pontefract

The globetrotting Make Me King made the most of having his sights lowered in the Sky Bet Pomfret Stakes at Pontefract.

Formerly trained by Andre Fabre before being snapped up by Wathnan Racing and joining Hamad Al Jehani, the five-year-old has since been campaigned in Qatar, Dubai, Abu Dhabi and France, with his sole previous success in Britain coming on the all-weather at Newcastle.

Having finished a close third in a Group Three at Chantilly last time out, Make Me King was a 7-2 shot for this Listed assignment and after tracking the pacesetting pair of Prague and Point Lynas into the straight, he finished off strongly under Danny Tudhope to score by a length and a quarter.

“We got a nice position early, they didn’t go as quick as I thought they would and I gave my fellow a chance to travel smoothly and when I picked him up he showed a nice turn of foot,” Tudhope told Racing TV.

“I think I was in the right position at the right time and he got the job done. It was a great performance.”

Cicero’s Gift made late gains in second, with Checkandchallenge coming from even further back to finish third after blowing the start.

Last year’s winner Point Lynas, a 15-8 favourite to go back-to-back after an excellent second in Ascot’s Summer Mile a fortnight ago, weakened quickly to finish a disappointing last of six.