Hopefully he can be every bit as much a star as Rebecca Adlington was in Beijing last month.

I hope that followers of this column will have followed my advice and backed Mythical Border each-way at 10/1 last weekend at Doncaster when she ran a cracking race to finish third in the Flying Childers.

There is no racing at Southwell now until the 30th September so this week I have looked at the card an hour up the road at Pontefract on Thursday, where the going is currently good to soft.

Pontefract racecourse is staging a seven race card which, although not the best quality, will provide some competitive racing.

The feature race is the 4.00pm Highfield Farm Fillies Handicap, a class three race over six furlongs. Pontefract is a course which can sometimes catch horses out if they are unable to handle the undulations or the stiff uphill finish.

The class horse in the race is Vital Statistics who has been campaigned at a fairly high level and won a listed contest as a two year old back in 2006.

She is currently 11/4 with Boylesports, however I would be inclined to 'lay' (bet against) her with Betdaq as she has not previously handled softer ground. An interesting runner in this race is Dubai Power from the Clive Brittain yard.

She is a quirky filly who seems to put in a couple of questionable runs between every good one, however I think tomorrow may be a day for her to shine.

She has run well in testing ground, has won over this distance, and has also shown her stamina in winning over further as well, a factor which will be instrumental in staying on up the stiff home straight.

She is currently 10/1 with Boylesports.

The 4.30pm contest is the sixth round of the Pontefract Stayers Championship Handicap and is run over an extended two miles one furlong.

As with lots of staying races, there are some grand old-timers who make an appearance and Thewhirlingdervish fits this category nicely.

Tim Easterby's ten year old is a previous course and distance winner and has shown he can handle the conditions well.

His last few runs have been a little out of sorts, although I think when he returns to his favoured Pontefract he will put his best foot forward and cannot be dismissed at 10/1, a big enough price for an each-way punt at least.

Another interesting runner is John O'Shea's Kanpai.

This Kalanisi six year old has been campaigned at a high level over hurdles and has been victorious on eight occasions.

He has had two years off the track but if he returns at full fitness, he would definitely be one to keep an eye on, especially if there are any market moves for him.

This may also be a good opportunity for spread bettors to buy winning distances (bet higher) with Sporting Index.

The feature race of the weekend is the John Smith's Ayr Gold Cup run at 3.30pm on Saturday.

River Falcon caught the eye last weekend when just touched off in the Portland and must be backed at 20/1 each-way with Boylesports if he is allowed to take his chance.

He relishes getting his toe-in and with heavy rain forecast, he could be in his element.

Another who was finishing like a train at Doncaster was Fullandby (available at 25/1) and he has the necessary class and guts to nick a place in testing ground.