Future stars set to line up in Doncaster’s Racing Post Trophy
The flat season is drawing to a close and on Channel 4 this Saturday we’ll witness the final Group 1 race of the season, the Racing Post Trophy. Hopefully we’ll see a star of the future with Kingston Hill, Camelot, St Nicholas Abbey, Authorized and Motivator all amongst the winners in the last decade. That race is not the only one to look forward to and arguably the best bets are going to come from the handicaps.
Knife To Point Towards Winners’ Enclosure
The 2.40 at Doncaster looks to be a solvable puzzle with only 11 runners going to post and Knife Point can win his first handicap. He only made his racecourse debut this season and has run creditably in every handicap start, rising 11lbs in the process. On his latest start at Newmarket he finished 4th, beating 20 other unexposed three year olds in a huge field. That suggests he can get his head in front here with the ground unlikely to prove troublesome (has finished 2nd twice on good to soft). A back to form Open Eagle and previous course and distance winner Forgotten Hero can follow the selection home.
Golden Bet For Doncaster Cavalry Charge
The 3.15 at Doncaster is arguably the toughest race of the day with 22 runners tackling the minimum trip. It may pay to take a chance on Golden Steps on his first try at 5f. His overall form is top notch for a race of this nature, he’s been getting beat narrowly in races just as tough as this, often on ground faster than ideal. He’s still lightly enough raced to improve and he ran particularly well after a 2 month break last time out at Ascot behind the progressive Telmeyd. As a keen racer Golden Steps should be suited by this strong pace over a furlong shorter than he’s used to and as he never seems to finish his races off quite as well as seems likely this drop in trip could be the making of Marco Botti’s gelding.
Say Hi To Last Year’s Winner
The ground is likely to be very testing at Newbury and likely warm favourite Ennistown looks worth taking on despite having won on a range of different going types in the past, including heavy. He returned to form last time out but has thrown in as many stinkers as good runs in the past and isn’t one to completely trust. An alternative at a bigger price is Hi There, who could be overlooked with three duck eggs next to his name. He’s dropped 10lbs after a sequence of poor runs but showed signs of a return to form last time at York over a trip that was too far. Back over his ideal trip, on his ideal ground, he’s now 3lbs lower than when winning this race last year and it would be no surprise if this has been the target for some time.
Pick The Right Path In Competitive Racing Post Trophy
A lot depends on Elm Park in the Racing Post Trophy (3.50 Doncaster) and he should appreciate some cut underfoot despite his last two wins coming on faster ground. His two wins outside of maiden company have come in very small fields though and although this is hardly a cavalry charge this year, he does have a little to prove so is short enough in the betting. Aidan O’Brien’s Jacobean could be anything after a promising first run but he’s still a maiden and only made his racecourse debut less than two weeks ago. The more interesting bet could be Celestial Path who has won both his starts to date with considerable ease and he could improve on this softer ground as his sire Footstepsinthesand handled this type of ground well and his offspring seem to inherit that trait.
