The horse racing broadcaster offers his selections for Saturday at Doncaster, including a tip in the final Classic of the domestic season.
The final domestic Classic of the season — the St Leger — rounds off seven races on ITV this Saturday, with Aidan O’Brien holding a very strong hand, saddling three of the front four in the market. He’s bidding for a ninth Leger victory, having also trained the first two home last season, further underlining Coolmore’s dominance in the staying division.
That day, the winner Jan Brueghel was ridden by Sean Levey, and with Ryan Moore sidelined through injury, Levey now picks up the ride on dual Derby winner LAMBOURN 5/2 (15:40 Doncaster), who could give him another Classic win on Town Moor.
The fact that Lambourn, a dual Derby winner, has failed to capture the public’s imagination is evident — at the time of writing (Friday morning), he isn’t even favourite for the race, with Scandinavia preferred in the market. Lambourn’s victories have been built on stamina rather than speed, but that’s exactly what the St Leger demands, and there are a couple of compelling reasons to side with him.
First, he looked clearly in need of the run in the Voltigeur at York — a race that wasn’t run to suit. That effort should have put him spot on for this, not unlike Kew Gardens a few seasons ago, and it would be wrong to judge him too harshly for that display. Second, recency bias seems to be contributing to a price that looks too big.
Market leader Scandinavia certainly deserves respect, having lowered the colours of last year’s Leger runner-up in the Goodwood Cup. He did us a favour that day, but part of the argument was the overly generous weight-for-age allowances three-year-olds receive in that race — allowances that won’t apply here, back against his own generation. Cheekpieces do seem to have helped him, but it’s worth remembering he finished behind a couple of these — Further and Carmers — in the Queen’s Vase, where he did have a tougher trip. He reversed form with Further, who found the race came too soon at Newmarket next time before winning at Newbury, while Carmers likely found the Voltigeur not enough of a test when running a creditable second.
The simple fact is: the Derby is a better race than the Queen’s Vase, and it’s understandable that Lambourn was given a break after following up in Ireland. He’s clearly not a vintage Derby winner — otherwise he’d be heading to the Arc rather than lining up here—but his Chester victory earlier in the season screamed St Leger, and I’m loath to abandon that conclusion.
There’s a disappointing turnout for the Group 2 Betfred Champagne Stakes over 7f, but that’s no fault of GEWAN 13/8 (13:50 Doncaster), who looked thoroughly admirable and straightforward when winning the Acomb at York. He’s since been sold to new connections, and his tactical versatility is a big asset. He settles well, so a small field shouldn’t be an issue, and his form simply looks the best on offer.
After a season that hasn’t lived up to expectations, I’m still hopeful it will end on a high for SHADOW OF LIGHT 6/4 (15:00 Doncaster), who I was convinced would be a sprinter to reckon with after his third in the 2000 Guineas, where he didn’t appear to get home. Having invested heavily ante-post for the Commonwealth Cup, his lacklustre effort there was a bitter pill to swallow — but it seemed easily explained: he never let himself down on the quick ground. His last run in the Prix Jean Prat saw him fail to last home over today’s trip of 7f, but this is lesser company, and with that race under his belt, he can get his season back on track before showing himself to be a Group 1 sprinter at Ascot on Champions Day.
All three selections so far have been towards the top of the market, so here are a couple of outsiders to round things off — starting with CHIPSTEAD 50/1 (14:25 Doncaster) in the Portland. He won the race in 2022, only to lose it at a subsequent appeal after the stewards’ decision to leave the result unchanged on the day. Things have been more difficult since, with an absence of over a year before trailing in last at Ascot on Shergar Cup day. However, he banged his head coming out of the stalls that day, and his stable — Roger Teal also saddles Rosario — is enjoying a good spell. There’s a chance he may never recapture his former glories, but with a genuine excuse for that Ascot run, his current price — among the complete outsiders — looks generous.
Finally, at Chester, there’s another big-priced horse looking to roll back the years: TORCELLO 66/1 (14:40 Chester), now approaching veteran status. If connections employ forward tactics, he has a chance to outrun his odds from an ideal berth in stall 1. The recent rain is in his favour, and it was only three starts ago that he made the frame at York over this trip at 50/1. Though his appearances have been more sporadic since, he lines up 5lb lower. In his younger days, he was a regular front-runner, and with limited pace on paper in this race, if those tactics are deployed again—especially if Chester catches a heavy shower or two in the next 24 hours—he could be in the mix for a long way.
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- Source: https://blog.betway.com/horse-racing/richard-hoiles-my-tips-for-day-3-of-the-doncaster-st-leger-festival/
