Doncaster St.Leger meeting starts today

The four day Doncaster St. Leger meetings starts today with a relatively low-key card. Main event is the listed Scarboroough Stakes over 5 furlongs at 16.05 CET, which has an extremely strong field for a listed race, including several Group One performers. This could well go to Ireland as Sole Power (Eddie Lynam/ Johnny Murtagh) is deservedly favourite after a string of good efforts in top sprints.

He won the Nunthorpe in 2010, was just touched off in the Abbaye last year and is clearly one of the best 5 furlongs horses in Eiurope. His problem is that he has to be brought with a very late run, so he rarely wins but is almost always placed. Another Irish runner Nocturnal Affair (David Marnane/ Neil Callan) looks the main danger . he won the Portland Handicap here last year and there is little between him and Sole Power on the form book. Kingsgate Natove (Ropberet Cowell/ Richard Hughes) would also be in there with a great chance if back to the form he showed some years ago for Sir Michael Stoute and Jim Best, including his Golden Jubilee and Nunthorpe victories. However he has not run for a year and is better watched for now. Sole Power prefers firm ground, and it looks as if he will get it; in the unlikely event of heavy rain (not forecast) then Confessional (Tim Easterby/ Paul Mulrennan) would also have a chance.

The other race of interest is the mile event at 16.40, a classified stakes for horses rated up to 70; most of them are rated exactly that, which means that it will depend on the jockeys, and that is really the case here. For this is the Leger Legends race, a charity race for ex-jockeys and it has attracted a star line-up. The two biggest names are Julie Krone, the world´s most successful female jockey ever with over 3700 wins to her name and the winner here last year, who partners Richard Fahey´s Siunnyside Tom, and Mick Kinane, who partners Chris Dwyer´s Patriotic. Also taking part are Derby-winning jockeys like John Reid and Willie Ryan, and ex-champion Kevin Darley. It will all depend on the riders´ fitness, but Krone and Kinane, though no spring chickens, are very ambitious and still have the burning desire to win, so we expect one of them to score.

Another interesting race is the conditions event over 10 furlongs at 17.10, which features the 2011 winner Cai Shen (Richard Hannon/ Richard Hughes). However we cannot see him beating Beatern Up (William Haggas/ Murtagh), who looked very smart last year but has not run since flopping in the Coronation Cup, and the once-raced Swedish Sailor (Mahmood al Zarooni/ Mikael Barzalona); the Monsun colt was an easy winner of a Yarmouth maiden last October from subsequent group winnerr Noble Mission, but has not been seen since.