Today’s free selection Horse: Courage Best Race: 17:26 Salisbury Card no.: 8 Trainer: Rod Millman Morning price: no price yet |
Doncaster Cup Day Frames the Middle of the Leger FestivalTown Moor stages day two of a four-day meeting, with the 2026 St Leger Festival running from Thursday 10 to Sunday 13 September and Saturday's St Leger being staged for the 250th time. Friday is billed as Gents Day and is built around the Doncaster Cup, first contested in 1766 and the oldest race still run under official rules. Eight races, £305,220 in prize money and two Group 2s make this comfortably the day's main business. The declared going at Doncaster is Good to Soft, and it was reported as good to soft with good in places, with a dry, bright forecast. Chester, by contrast, is on Soft ground for its Autumn Festival card, and Salisbury's evening meeting is also on Soft. Take the Doncaster description as read, but the ground there looked to be on the quicker side of the official term. The Doncaster Cup (15:00)Two miles, one furlong and 197 yards on easing ground over Doncaster's long, galloping circuit is an examination of stamina rather than gears, and eight runners means little hiding place once the tempo lifts three furlongs out. Caballo De Mar, trained by George Scott, comes here after finishing fourth as favourite in the Lonsdale Cup, and as a dual Group 1 winner he concedes 5lb to Queenstown, who carries Aidan O'Brien's hopes of a first win in the race since 2008. That weight concession is the race's central question. Caballo De Mar has the class but has not been at his best in his last two starts, while Queenstown arrives with the pull in the weights and the sort of relentless galloping profile that this trip and this ground reward. Ascending, a high-class handicapper, has also been picked out as a live player in what is not regarded as a vintage renewal. The likely shape favours a horse that can travel within itself for a mile and a half and then sustain a long run. Cup horses that need cover and a sprint finish are less well served by a small field and softening ground. The Flying Childers (14:25)Twelve juveniles over five furlongs from the centre stalls, with no meaningful draw bias reported, sets up a straightforward test of raw speed under pressure. The headline runner is Pershaada, the Richard Hannon-trained filly owned by Middleham Park Racing, who won the Molecomb at Goodwood in July before being pitched into the Nunthorpe at York against older horses and failing to land a blow; connections want a return to form, with a Breeders' Cup trip a possibility if she delivers. The opposition has substance. Amy Murphy brings Tokaido across from France, a dual Group winner there who underperformed at York last time, while Final Objective runs for Wathnan and Sale Shark caught the eye at York last month. Good to soft over the minimum trip slightly favours the strong-actioned type that can carry speed to the line rather than the pure quick-ground flier. Around The Rest Of The CardThe £43,809 Premier Fillies' Handicap at 15:35 over 1m 3f 197y is a genuinely valuable handicap, and on this ground the stayers in the field are better placed than those dropping back in trip off a recent win. The Flying Scotsman Stakes at 13:15 opens proceedings, nine juveniles at seven furlongs, a Listed race that regularly throws up horses with a future at a mile and beyond. At 13:50 comes the Leger Legends Classified Stakes over a mile, the only British charity race for former professional jockeys, raising funds for the Injured Jockeys Fund's Jack Berry House. Adam Kirby both trains and rides his runner, while Jimmy McCarthy takes the mount on Feel The Need. Chester's soft ground on a tight, turning track puts a premium on position and tactical speed, with Vintage Clarets among those of interest in the feature handicap and Baker Blue heading the betting forecast. Ballinrobe provides the Irish action with eight races from 15:24, and Sandown and Salisbury fill out the British programme. Today's SelectionOur selection is Courage Best, trained by Rod Millman and ridden by Lewis Edmunds, in the 17:26 selling stakes at Salisbury, card number eight over 6f 213y in a field of ten. The official going there is Soft, which at Salisbury — a stiff, rising finish — makes this a more searching six and a half furlongs than the bare trip suggests. Horses that are one-paced on quicker surfaces can be found out by that climb. Today’s free selectionToday's free selection is Courage Best (Rod Millman), number 8 in the 17:26 at Salisbury. Our strongest selection on today's card. The race is the Happy 40th Birthday Kevin Baker Selling Stakes (Class D) over 6f 213y on soft ground with 10 runners. We have 10 further selections on today's card, reserved for subscribers.
Today’s meetings
| Doncaster | 8 | 13:15–17:20 | | Ballinrobe | 8 | 15:24–19:10 | | Chester | 7 | 13:37–17:03 | | Sandown | 7 | 14:01–17:32 | | Salisbury | 6 | 15:41–18:28 |
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