Best bets for the Betfred St Leger Festival - Day Two

An annoying day Thursday as I tipped three horses for a couple of seconds and a winner, very annoying. Anyway, no point dwelling on the past so on to Friday. It’s a real mixture of the old and the new, the precocious and the venerable on Friday with some big two-year-old races on the card, including the 5f Flying Childers for the particularly speedy juveniles, and of course the Betfred Doncaster Cup Stakes for the gnarled old stayers.  The going is now soft good to soft in places and they should have a dry day up on Town Moor. Bets online now:

Best bets for the horse racing at Doncaster Friday

The Listed 7f Betfred Flying Scotsman Stakes for two-year-olds at 1.50 looks competitive with nine of the ten runners last-time-out winners. War Rooms won over the track and trip on soft on debut back in July; Stormy Waves who was third that day was second at Chelmsford yesterday, I tipped him! War Rooms powered home from a furlong-and-a-half out and looked one to keep on side. The yard isn’t exactly on fire but Owen Burrows knows the time of day and this one has a couple of big entries in the autumn. I thought the colt might be shorter than he is and I have taken 2-1. Battle Cry won last time but certainly isn’t at the top of the two-year-old pecking order at Ballydoyle; he needs to improve but it wouldn’t surprise if he is in the shake-up.

The 5f Group Two Carlsberg Danish Pilsner Flying Childers Stakes at 2.25 has twelve speedy youngsters going to post. Big Evs was asked a big question in the G.1 Nunthorpe Stakes last time and drops back into much calmer waters here. Winner of the Listed Windsor Castle at Royal Ascot the colt then took the G.3 Molecomb Stakes at Goodwood on very soft going. The booking of Tom Marquand is seen as a positive and I have a bit of the 3-1. The drop back to the minimum trip should help Kylian but he has a bit to find with the selection on their Goodwood meeting; it appears the each-way thieves are on as he has shortened a bit. Francis Meynell over from Ireland is the one that could be anything having won a maiden at Navan nicely.

They face 2m3f for the Group Two Betfred Doncaster Cup Stakes at 3.00 and it’s no surprise to see a few of the usual suspects here though sadly we are down to just five runners. Last year's winner Coltrancehas been as consistent as the day is long for over a year now and looks the safe bet here. Trueshan hasn't looked anywhere near his best in two runs this season and unless a recent win op see’s him recapture his form of the last two seasons looks beatable; I can’t back him in the hope the operation has worked. Sweet William takes a step-up in trip and distance so has a lot of questions to answer and I can’t be taking a chance on him. Broome is capable of a big performance but just as likely to run a stinker whilst The Grand Visir certainly aint getting any better at nine and is surely here just to pick-up a few quid ‘appearance money’. I am on Coltrane at 11-10. 

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