Thursday’s Racing Tips: Best bets and odds at Doncaster

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It’s the first of four days of action at Doncaster’s St Leger Festival and our horse racing correspondent Jonathan Doidge has come up with four selections on the Town Moor card using the best odds from betting sites.

An interesting opener and there are plenty in with chances, with a number of runners having their first nursery outing.

Five of the last ten winners had at least share of market leadership and that is a positive for those who fancy Speed Of Sound. She and Art Of Life both look very solid options towards the head of the market.

Kodi Bear Light proved herself over slightly further last time and could go well at a price, as could LEUCOTHEA. Richard Hannon’s filly has had a couple of stiffish tasks of late, with a good effort at Nottingham (6f, good to firm) sandwiched in between.

She’s yet to win but has been placed four times in her six starts and handled soft ground well in one of those, when second at Goodwood (5f) in June. Her recent second at Nottingham (6f, good to firm) saw her doing her best work late on, so this slight step up in trip looks positive and she looks to have each-way potential at a decent price.

She would need some improvement to win but, given she’s only had half a dozen starts and that this is only her second in nursery company, that’s not beyond the realms of possibility.

Leucothea (Doncaster 13.15) – 1pt each-way @ 25/1 (Ladbrokes)

As ever, we have a really interesting renewal of this big juvenile prize in prospect, with Night In Vegas heading the market and plenty short enough after winning a valuable auction prize at Newmarket last month (6f, good) with a bit to spare.

Eve Johnson Houghton’s colt has already won on good to soft ground over 6f, so this trip looks well within his compass and he is much respected.

However, at the prices, the one who offers some value to my eye looks to be SEVEN NATION ARMY, who could continue a superb 2026 for Joseph O’Brien’s raiders to these shores.

He looks to have got his mind fully on the job since being gelded in the spring. He’s already gone well in a couple of nurseries, winning one of those, at Galway, easily (7f, yielding to soft).

He built on that again in an auction contest at Roscommon (7½f, good) last month. He can race prominently which, back down in trip, will be no bad thing, while we know he also handles some cut.

His trainer has made his name as one who really can eke improvement from his string in handicap company and he has decided to try cheekpieces this time, which I hope can prove to be a positive on the day. He looks too big to miss each way, priced up at the time of writing at 7/1 on horse racing bookmakers.

Seven Nation Army (Doncaster, 13.50) – 1pt each-way @ 7/1 (William Hill)

Plenty of them in this field could prove to be significant improvers, none more so than BESIEGED, who makes his handicap debut this time.

He’s by Dubawi out of Falmouth winner Snow Lantern and he really did begin to show that pedigree last time out at Salisbury (1m2f, soft), when he sluiced up by 14L to post easily his best effort yet.

He’s got in here from what, in his case, looks a very workable mark of 93 and it would be no surprise if he takes another leap forward with conditions again on the slow side and his experience now building.

Trainer Harry Charlton looks to have been patient with him since that latest success, giving him some time between then and this return for what may well be a fruitful autumn campaign.

King Of Earth, Knights Charge and Runman looks particularly interesting opponents but Besieged looks worth siding with each-way at his current 6/1.

Besieged (Doncaster, 14.25) – 1pt each-way @ 11/2 (Bet365)

A couple of very useful Irish raiders catch the eye here in SEA OF RAIN and Ballyskeagh, the former having beaten the latter when they met recently in a Group 3 at the Curragh (1m, good).

Joseph O’Brien trains Ballyskeagh, who won her second start in a Leopardstown maiden (7f, good) and improved considerably when finding just Sea of Rain too good last time. Trainer Jim Bolger has care of the latter and has gone on the record extolling her virtues, which is not usual for such an understated man.

Bolger would quite obviously send fewer runners to these shores than the likes of the O’Briens and when he does, it often pays to take notice.

Conditions with a bit of ease should not faze the selection, given her pedigree, so she has a fair bit going for her and at a handy looking each-way price. Musical Times heads the English challenge and, while she may well be up to making it 3-3, she is plenty short enough against others with potential.

Sea Rain (Doncaster, 15.35) – 1pt each-way @ 13/2 (Betfred)

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