The curtain may be coming down on the flat turf season but there are still some good quality cards on offer this weekend at Doncaster and Newbury. Although the going will be on the slow side, both courses are flat galloping tracks with very few hard luck stories for beaten horses.
I recently tipped Richard Hannon’s Tea In Transvaal despite the fact that she was still a maiden after four attempts and she bolted up by six lengths. The same colours are carried tomorrow by Bon Voyage who has been beaten in all four starts to date and I am anticipating a similar result. The stable have always held this colt in high regard and he has been battling away well in valuable sales races. He will find Friday’s company a lot easier to deal with and should represent value at odds of around even money.
Betting in handicaps at this time of year is a risky business but there are some tempting propositions at both flat meetings. The Artsign Handicap at 4.20 features three progressive types in Zain Eagle, Ajman Bridge and Squire Osbaldeston. Zain Eagle cruised home at Doncaster before flopping at Chester under a big weight whilst Ajman Bridge was slightly disappointing at Newmarket last time out. Preference is for Squire Osbaldeston who won comfortably at Lingfield and has the scope to make a group horse next season. I don’t expect the 4-1 with Ladbrokes to last too long.
My bet of the day at Newbury is John Gosden’s sprinter Blessington who put up a promising seasonal debut when second to Intibaah at Ascot. He was racing off a light weight that day but beat off some seasoned campaigners and must have every chance of going one better on Friday. William Buick is in the saddle and he should pick up this prize on the way to better things next season.
It promises to be an exciting weekend with The Racing Post Trophy at Doncaster and The Cox Plate in Australia.
(Doncaster) 2.40 Bon Voyage
(Doncaster) 4.20 Squire Osbaldeston 4-1 Ladbrokes
(Newbury) 5.10 Blessington 5-4 Coral
