Best bets for the horse racing Saturday 14th September 2024 across the world
We have the final Classic of the season, the Betfred St Leger on Saturday. In 1776 Colonel Anthony St Leger founded the race we now know as the St Leger making it the world’s oldest Classic race; a little fact for you to bore your friends with down the boozer this weekend. There is top-class action here, there and everywhere this Saturday and I am involved in three different countries across the day. It's a busy afternoon and evening ahead.
Best bets for the horse racing at Doncaster the St Leger Festival
I have dealt with the St Leger, due off at 3.40, on the Classics page.
Treasure Time, the three-year-old gelding I hold a handful of shares in with RaceShare, goes in the lucky last the mile Cepac 25th Year Anniversary Handicap at 5.25. Drawn in seven of fifteen he has a little bit of early pace around him and all being well Cieren Fallon can get him in a nice spot early before running them all down; similar tactics to his win at York last time basically. Fallon gets on well with him, rode him to victory at Newmarket earlier this year, so the fact Tom Marquand is out in Ireland isn't seen as too much of a negative. The 'sticky' ground is a slight concern but it's due to be a dry sunny day so the ground should be proper good going by post time. His new mark of 94 means more is required again but the manner in which he won at York suggests there is more to come from him yet and William Haggas and the team at Somerville Lodge appear happy with him. Another big run is expected and with a bit of luck he can win this before a possible tilt at the big handicap on Qipco Champions Day at Ascot. I am on this morning at 100-30 this morning.Best bets for the horse racing at Leopardstown Irish Champions Festival
The Irish Champions Festival gets underway on Saturday racing at Leopardstown. Tom Marquand and Ryan Moore are across the Irish Sea for the meeting rather than at Doncaster for the St Leger card and both have serious chances. The Group One mile Coolmore America 'Justify' Matron Stakes at 2.50 looks a strong renewal with some very good fillies lining-up. Second in the G.11,000 Guineas before taking the G.1 Coronation at Royal Ascot and the G.1 Falmouth at Newmarket this summer Porta Fortuna sets the standard and looks the one to be on at 11-8. Fallen Angel is the danger clear having taken the Irish 1000 Guineas last time, but the form of that race, barring Opera Singer winning at Goodwood, isn't that great it has to be said. Ylang Ylang just hasn't done what had been expected of her this year but could put in a big run.
The Group One 1m2f Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes is the main event in Ireland at 3.25. Just the one Irish trainer is actually represented with Aidan O’Brien supplying four runners in the eight-strong-field. The master of Ballydoyle has trained the winner of this twelve times dating back to Giants Causeway in 200 and has taken the last five renewals. Two of those past winners, Auguste Rodin (2023) and Luxembourg (2022) are back again! Who knows which Auguste Rodin will show-up. I did back him at Ascot when he won the Prince Of Wales's Stakes, more because I didn’t like the others as much as I fancied him, but as I have said before for me he aint one to be trusted, as good as he can be, and I can’t back him for this. You can’t really knock the form of Los Angeles this year but I feel he is better over a mile-and-a-half and may find things happening a bit quickly over the mile-and-a-quarter; I thought he might be sent for the St Leger truth be told. Ghostwriter has run four decent races in defeat this season and will surely be in the mix again here though looks likely to have to settle for another podium position at best. The colt certainly deserves to win a decent race this year and hopefully connections will find one for him but I can’t see it being this. Economics makes his long awaited first start in a Group One and we now get to see if the William Haggas trained three-year-old is as good as many people, myself included, think he might be. A very impressive winner of the 1m2½f G.2 Dante Stakes in May he deliberately missed the Derby before winning the G.2 1m2f Prix Guillaume d'Ornano out in Deauville last month in pretty impressive fashion as well. He raced just once as a two-year-old when fourth in what has turned out to be a fair Novice Stakes at Newmarket. The team at Somerville and his owners have taken their time with him as clearly a late developer, he is quite a size so understandable it’s taken time to grow into his frame, and their patience is now being rewarded. After just four career starts, three wins this season as a three-year-old, there should be more to come from him and the son of Night Of Thunder should confirm himself very much out of the top-drawer here. I am on at 15-8.
Best bets for the horse racing at Woodbine Turf Champions Day
As if there isn’t enough going on this weekend to try and keep track of two of the very best Jockeys in the game aren’t in the UK or Ireland on Saturday as they are across the pond in Canada with rides on the card that is billed as 'Turf Champions Day' at Woodbine Canada’s biggest meeting of the year. Charlie Appleby and William Buick have four runners on the card as they looks to plunder more big prizes across the Atlantic.
Mountain Breeze steps up to the top-level for the Grade One mile Natalma Stakes at 8.25, a race her trainer Charlie Appleby has won a couple of times before. She readily won her first two starts and has filled the runner-up spot on her last two starts in the G.2 Duchess Of Cambridge Stakes and G.3 Sweet Solera Stakes. Charlie Appleby said in the build-up “Mountain Breeze is having her first start outside of the UK and will need to adapt to the style of racing in Canada. She’s drawn wide, which could make life challenging, but she’s a hold-up filly anyway, and it’s just whether she can cope with the new experience. She brings a decent level of European form into the race and we have been pleased with her preparation.” She looks head and shoulders above the opposition here and I have the 10-11 early.
Cinderella’s Dream looks to continue a sensational North American campaign in the Grade One E P Taylor Stakes at 9.33, with the Shamardal filly having already posted impressive wins in the G.1 Belmont Oaks and G.2 Saratoga Oaks. Charlie Appleby said this week “Cinderella’s Dream has proved a model of consistency. She is taking on older opposition for the first time and we are hoping that she can show herself to be a candidate for the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf. She has been faultless in America so far this season and appears to be in great order.” I have some of the 1 1-8 this morning.
Al Qudra hopes to follow in the steps of a couple of his stables runners by winning the mile Grade One Summer Stakes at 10.41. An all-weather winner in early June the two-year-old colt was narrowly beaten into fifth in the G.2 Coventry Stakes at the Royal meeting before returning to Ascot to comfortably make all in the 7f Listed Pat Eddery Stakes. Charlie Appleby said of him this week “Al Qudra heads into this on the back of a nice Listed win at Ascot, and the form of that race has worked out well. As always with a European horse, the first appearance on a North American track can be a learning experience, but he has natural pace which should help.” 5-2 is about early and I have that. New Century with Oisin onboard looks the danger.William Buick and boss Charlie Appleby are going for a hat-trick in the Grade One Rogers Woodbine Mile at 11.15 having won the race with Modern Games in 2022 and Master Of The Seas last year. This year they have one of my Dirty Dozen for the year Naval Power lining-up. Last seen when beaten a head in the G.1 Turf Classic at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Derby day back in May William Buick said of his mount earlier this week “The Woodbine Mile is a competitive race but Naval Power is a horse who has had a bit of a break now and had a good run in Churchill Downs, where he just got beat by Program Trading and that was a very good run. Everything will suit him at Woodbine.” Charlie Appleby said “Naval Power goes into the Woodbine Mile a fresh horse following a good lay-off since the Turf Classic. It’s a decent race but, on the back of his two US performances this season, he should be very competitive. He looks fit and well, and we are very pleased with him.” I have to back him and have done so at 10-11.
Be lucky