Doncaster St Leger Festival Day Four Review: Handicaps Rule
Ancient State Denies Victorious Forever's Adrestia
The card opened with the Land Of Lights Festival At Gullivers Handicap, a Class 3 contest for 3YO+ horses rated 0-90 run over 5f, worth £18,319 (US$24,364) to the winner. Adam Kirby's Ancient State, ridden by Callum Rodriguez, started 9/2 favourite and held on by a head from Simon and Ed Crisford's Adrestia, carrying the silks of Victorious Forever, with Juddmonte's Hypnotised a further 1½ lengths back in third under Lewis Edmunds. Victorious Forever's runner-up finish gave the Gulf operation an early placed run on a card that would go on to deliver considerably more.
Blue Brother Delivers For Wathnan And Al Jehani
The 'The Classic Bookmaker' Handicap, a Class 2 race for 4YO+ horses rated 0-105 over 6½f, was worth £36,078 (US$47,984) to the winner. Hamad Al Jehani, the Gulf-based conditioner training out of his own Newmarket yard, sent out Wathnan Racing's Blue Brother under Callum Rodriguez, and the joint-favourite made all to beat Julie Camacho's Milford by 2¾ lengths, with James Fanshawe's Pietro a further 2¾ lengths back in third. It was the first of two involvements for Al Jehani on the card, and the more productive of the two.
Inishbeg Upsets Godolphin's Military Code
The City Of Doncaster Handicap, for 3YO horses rated 0-100 over 7f, carried a purse of £33,501 (US$44,556). Charlie Appleby's Godolphin-owned Military Code carried the highest rating in the 14-runner field on 98 under Toby Moore, but it was Kevin Ryan's 33/1 outsider Inishbeg, ridden by Jack Nicholls for the Exors Of The Late Sheikh Mohammed Obaid, who came out on top, with Kevin & Lauren Frost's Flight Control and Stuart Williams's Ironwill filling the places. Military Code could finish only seventh, beaten 1½ lengths, leaving Godolphin's interest on the placed side of the ledger rather than the winning one.
Pina Sonata Denies Shadwell And Wathnan In The Sceptre
The Group Three Japan Racing Association Sceptre Fillies' Stakes, run over 7f for 3YO+ fillies and mares, was worth £53,874.50 (US$71,653) to the winner from a field of nineteen. Owen Burrows's Touleen headed the official ratings on 112, but James Fanshawe's 12/1 outsider Pina Sonata, under Daniel Muscutt, denied the favourite by 1½ lengths. Shadwell Estate Company's Touleen had to settle for second, with Wathnan Racing's The Prettiest Star, trained by Ed Walker under Callum Rodriguez, a further half-length back in third. Named after the champion filly who won four Classics including the St Leger, the race kept its sense of occasion even as the form book was overturned.
Valedictory Gives Godolphin The Mallard Ahead Of Wathnan's Ernst Blofeld
The Mallard Handicap, a GBBPlus race over 1m6½f for horses rated 0-105, was worth £36,078 (US$47,984) and drew eight runners after Fantasy World was declared a non-runner. John and Thady Gosden's Godolphin-owned Valedictory, a 7/4 favourite under Robert Havlin, beat Hamad Al Jehani's Wathnan Racing-owned Ernst Blofeld by 1¾ lengths under Callum Rodriguez, with Liam Bailey's Say What You See a neck away in third. Al Jehani's runner-up finish, following his Classic Bookmaker win earlier in the day, made for a winning and placed afternoon for the Gulf-based trainer, while Godolphin and Wathnan's meeting at the finish gave the Mallard its own quiet Gulf storyline.
Tiva Leads Home An All-British Julie Parkes Division One
The I Love Julie Parkes Handicap, run in two divisions for 3YO+ horses rated 0-80 over 5f, opened with David O'Meara's Tiva holding off Robert Cowell's Fantasy Master by a neck under Conor Whiteley, with Roy Bowring's Hiya Maite a head back in third. Each division was worth £7,851 (US$10,442) to the winner, and neither produced a Gulf-connected result.
Maharajas Express Completes The Julie Parkes Double
Division Two went to Ian Williams's Maharajas Express, the 7/2 favourite scoring by a neck from Tim Easterby's Tanjen under David Probert, with Paul Midgley's Rock Of England, ridden by Oisin Murphy, 1½ lengths back in third. Both divisions occupied the lower end of the ratings band, pointing the card toward its smaller, apprentice-focused conclusion.
Pyle And Arduis Invicta Close The Card
The meeting closed with the Duncan Pearce Memorial Apprentice Handicap, for 3YO+ horses rated 0-85 over 6f, worth £7,851 (US$10,442). Craig Lidster's Arduis Invicta, ridden by apprentice William Pyle, won at 12/1 from Jim Goldie's Dandy Magic by a nose, with Tony Carroll's Charlie Mason 1½ lengths back in third and Roy Bowring's Shazani a head further back in fourth, from a maximum field of sixteen. Doncaster's placepot returned £186.00 from a pool of £143,678.80, while the quadpot paid £37.90 from a pool of £14,481.53.
Doncaster's fourth St Leger Festival day asked different questions of different yards. Hamad Al Jehani answered both of his, winning with Blue Brother and finishing runner-up with Ernst Blofeld, while Godolphin banked the Mallard and saw Military Code run into the places. Shadwell's Touleen and Wathnan's The Prettiest Star filled out the frame behind a 12/1 shock in the Sceptre, and Victorious Forever's Adrestia opened the card with a placed run. The day's smaller handicaps quietly kept faith with the meeting's reputation for competitive, well-filled cards long after the Classic crowds had gone home.
Gulf Ledger
Wathnan Racing won the Classic Bookmaker Handicap through Hamad Al Jehani's Blue Brother and was runner-up in the Mallard Handicap with Ernst Blofeld, also trained by Al Jehani; Wathnan's The Prettiest Star, trained by Ed Walker, finished third in the Sceptre Fillies' Stakes. Godolphin won the Mallard Handicap with Valedictory and saw Military Code finish seventh in the City Of Doncaster Handicap. Shadwell Estate Company's Touleen was runner-up in the Sceptre. Victorious Forever's Adrestia finished second in the Land Of Lights Festival At Gullivers Handicap. The Exors Of The Late Sheikh Mohammed Obaid won the City Of Doncaster Handicap with Inishbeg.
Race Info
Land Of Lights Festival At Gullivers Handicap (Class 3) (3yo+ 0-90): 16:25 GST (13:25 BST) | Turf | 5f | Good | £18,319 (US$24,364) | 16 ran
'The Classic Bookmaker' Handicap (Class 2) (4yo+ 0-105): 16:55 GST (13:55 BST) | Turf | 6½f | Good | £36,078 (US$47,984) | 13 ran
City Of Doncaster Handicap (Class 2) (3yo 0-100): 17:30 GST (14:30 BST) | Turf | 7f | Good | £33,501 (US$44,556) | 14 ran
Japan Racing Association Sceptre Fillies' Stakes (Group Three) (Class 1) (3yo+): 18:05 GST (15:05 BST) | Turf | 7f | Good | £53,874.50 (US$71,653) | 19 ran
Mallard Handicap (GBBPlus Race) (Class 2) (3yo+ 0-105): 18:40 GST (15:40 BST) | Turf | 1m6½f | Good | £36,078 (US$47,984) | 8 ran
I Love Julie Parkes Handicap (Div I) (Class 4) (3yo+ 0-80): 19:15 GST (16:15 BST) | Turf | 5f | Good | £7,851 (US$10,442) | 10 ran
I Love Julie Parkes Handicap (Div II) (Class 4) (3yo+ 0-80): 19:50 GST (16:50 BST) | Turf | 5f | Good | £7,851 (US$10,442) | 10 ran
Duncan Pearce Memorial Apprentice Handicap (Class 4) (3yo+ 0-85): 20:20 GST (17:20 BST) | Turf | 6f | Good | £7,851 (US$10,442) | 16 ran
Result
Land Of Lights Festival At Gullivers Handicap: 1 Ancient State (T: Adam Kirby / J: Callum Rodriguez) 9/2F | 2 Adrestia (T: Simon & Ed Crisford / J: Oisin Murphy) hd | 3 Hypnotised (T: Harry Charlton / J: Lewis Edmunds) 1½
'The Classic Bookmaker' Handicap: 1 Blue Brother (T: Hamad Al Jehani / J: Callum Rodriguez) 5/2J | 2 Milford (T: Julie Camacho / J: Tom Kiely-Marshall) 2¾ | 3 Pietro (T: James Fanshawe / J: Saffie Osborne) 2¾
City Of Doncaster Handicap: 1 Inishbeg (T: Kevin Ryan / J: Jack Nicholls) 33/1 | 2 Flight Control (T: Kevin & Lauren Frost / J: Rowan Scott) ¾ | 3 Ironwill (T: Stuart Williams / J: Sean Levey) nk
Japan Racing Association Sceptre Fillies' Stakes: 1 Pina Sonata (T: James Fanshawe / J: Daniel Muscutt) 12/1 | 2 Touleen (T: Owen Burrows / J: David Probert) 1½ | 3 The Prettiest Star (T: Ed Walker / J: Callum Rodriguez) ½
Mallard Handicap: 1 Valedictory (T: John & Thady Gosden / J: Robert Havlin) 7/4F | 2 Ernst Blofeld (T: Hamad Al Jehani / J: Callum Rodriguez) 1¾ | 3 Say What You See (T: Liam Bailey / J: Billy Garritty) nk
I Love Julie Parkes Handicap (Div I): 1 Tiva (T: David O'Meara / J: Conor Whiteley) 100/30F | 2 Fantasy Master (T: Robert Cowell / J: Ray Dawson) nk | 3 Hiya Maite (T: Roy Bowring / J: Lewis Edmunds) hd
I Love Julie Parkes Handicap (Div II): 1 Maharajas Express (T: Ian Williams / J: David Probert) 7/2F | 2 Tanjen (T: Tim Easterby / J: Jake Dickson) nk | 3 Rock Of England (T: Paul Midgley / J: Oisin Murphy) 1½
Duncan Pearce Memorial Apprentice Handicap: 1 Arduis Invicta (T: Craig Lidster / J: William Pyle) 12/1 | 2 Dandy Magic (T: Jim Goldie / J: Lauren Young) nse | 3 Charlie Mason (T: Tony Carroll / J: Cian Horgan) 1½ | 4 Shazani (T: Roy Bowring / J: Joe Bradnam)