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The St Leger Festival continues at Doncaster on Friday with an exciting eight-race card, including the Doncaster Cup and the Flying Childers Stakes.
It appears to be a competitive renewal of the 2m2f Group 2 Doncaster Cup (3:00) with experienced stayers Coltrane and Trueshan challenged by Sweet William, a relative newcomer to the division. Coltrane sets the form standard after defeating the Ascot Gold Cup hero in the Group 2 Lonsdale Cup at York's Ebor Festival in comfortable fashion. The Andrew Balding-trained gelding has established himself at the top of the staying division and will be looking for back-to-back victories in this contest, having beaten Trueshan by a neck in last year's renewal. Although the pair have engaged in many exciting battles over the last two seasons, Trueshan did not appear to be the force of old when a lacklustre fourth in the Sagaro Stakes at Ascot and has been given a wind operation. This will be the seven-year-old's first run since May and at the current prices, punters are probably advised to wait and see how he returns.
Sweet William is an interesting prospect stepping into Group company for the first time. The John and Thady Gosden-trained four-year-old recorded a treble in attritional conditions at Glorious Goodwood and started favourite for the Ebor Handicap over 1m6f at the end of August. He produced an excellent performance to finish half-a-length runner-up behind Absurde and was always staying on in the closing stages. It will be the son of Sea The Star's first attempt over a distance further than 2m½f and he has shaped like a Group horse in the making throughout the year.
WIN: COLTRANE
Tom Marquand will take the ride on Big Evs, who is the current favourite for the 5f Group 2 Flying Childers Stakes (2:25). The colt was a surprise winner of the Listed Windsor Castle Stakes at Royal Ascot but backed up the form when taking the Group 3 Molecombe Stakes at Glorious Goodwood on soft ground. Connections threw the dice when stepping him into open company for the Group 1 Nunthorpe at York when he faded quickly to finish fourteenth of the sixteen runners. The son of Blue Point can be forgiven for the poor show against his elders, and rates highly returning to juvenile company.
It is difficult to overlook a Karl Burke juvenile at the moment and Kylian rates best of the remainder. The experienced colt put all his learning to good use when taking the Listed Dragon Stakes by six lengths at Sandown Park in early July and has been unlucky since. He was not suited by the soft ground at Goodwood in the Group 3 Molecombe Stakes but still managed to finish one-and-a-half lengths back in third behind Big Evs, then encountered no luck in running when sixth in the Group 2 Gimcrack Stakes at York. The return to five furlongs would not be considered a negative and the colt appears good value at the current odds of 13/2.
WIN: KYLIAN
There are plenty of colts looking to make the transition into Listed company in the 7f Listed Flying Scotsman Stakes (1:50) as last-start winners. In what appears to be a fairly open contest, Roger Varian's Warm Spell makes plenty of appeal after his success at Newbury over seven furlongs. The son of Mehmas still showed signs of inexperience when ducking right as he came out of the stalls but kept on well to register a one-and-a-quarter length success. The third-placed horse Thyer has subsequently won and the 66/1 second Shukuza has upheld the form by placing on his next outing. Warm Spell could easily improve again on his third career start and the Varian yard continue their good form with a strike rate of 25% from the last fourteen days.
WIN: WARM SPELL
RACING & SPORTS SELECTIONS
RACE 1: CIRCE
RACE 2: WARM SPELL
RACE 3: KYLIAN
RACE 4: COLTRANE
RACE 5: THE GOAT
RACE 6: THERE'S THE DOOR
RACE 7: BARADAR
RACE 8: BLUE PRINCE