Best bets for the Cazoo St Leger Festival - Day Three
It was a decent day one for me at the Cazoo St Leger Festival with two of the three tips obliging on Wednesday and yesterday weren’t too shabby either with Modern News winning though YesYes was a bit of a disappointment. It’s so far so good with three winners from five tips this week at Doncaster and the bets for day three of the St Leger meeting, Friday, are below.
Best bets for the horse racing at Doncaster Friday
The opener at 1.10 is the 7f Coopers Marquees Maiden Stakes and some potentially, on paper, decent two-year-olds line-up. Bay Of Honour makes debut for Charlie Appleby and the fact that he comes for a race like this at a big meeting suggests the team at Moulton Paddocks must rate him. A son of Shamardal he is the first foal out of his dam Kazimiera a two-year-old 7f winner in her racing career and the pedigree is a pretty good one on paper. I have to be on and have taken the 11-4 early. Kingdom Come has the benefit of experience having finished mid-field in a maiden at Newbury recently and having cost £500,000 you can bet connections will be hoping he shows improvement here. Kennet is another making debut who is worth a watch being a half-brother to a couple of winners out of Timely.
At 1.40 a fair bunch of somewhat more experienced two-year-olds will face the 7f for the Listed Cazoo Flying Scotsman Stakes. It should be all about Appleby and Buick again as Noble Truth is the one to be on here at the 7-2 overnight. He was a little too keen in the G.3 Acomb Stakes last time having looked one to keep an eye on when winning at Newmarket prior to that. It is hoped he will be a little calmer early here and I think probably ridden nearer the pace as well. The once raced winner Ribhi could be anything as they say whilst Hoo Ya Mal also caught my eye winning a York maiden and is likely to be thereabouts at the finish.
They won’t be hanging about at 210 for the Group Two 5f Wainwright Flying Childers Stakes with some real speedball two-year-olds lining-up. Armor is surely the one for this as a track and trip winner (on debut) going on to win the G.3 Molecomb at Goodwood like a good horse. Turned over as favourite in the 6f G.1 Prix Morny last time, not beaten far, the drop back into slightly calmer waters should see him back in the winner's enclosure. I am on at the unusual 9-5 overnight with Power. “I’m very happy with him. I thought he made a very big move in the Morny and it was as good a Morny we’ve had for 20 years,” said trainer Richard Hannon earlier this week “They didn’t go that tempo in the Morny that they do over five furlongs and because of that he was a little bit too keen. It stopped him finishing his race. He still ran with huge credit and ran to a very good mark. Coming back to five is what he wants and he would probably be my pick of the meeting.”
Trueshan and Stradivarius are due to face off for the Group Two Doncaster Cup at 2.40. Alan King said he wouldn’t run Trueshan unless the rain came and they appear to have missed most of it up there on Thursday from what I am told and there is little more that the chance of a passing shower on Friday so I can’t see the five-year-old gelding running. If he doesn’t show on Friday Stradivarius will simply be even longer odds-on and it is a no betting heat - I certainly wouldn’t want to be on the chestnut at prohibitive odds.
The form of the race Thousand Oaks won at HQ in July is working out well and she messed about a bit when she got to the front and then hung left before going clear despite that greenness. A mark of 88 might be very lenient in the 4.20 1m4f British Ebf Premier Fillies' Handicap as she stays strongly and if keeps to a straight line in this should win by a few lengths. I have the 2-1 overnight.
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