THERE is a guaranteed £100,000 up for grabs in the Tote placepot at Doncaster on Thursday.
The opening day of the St Leger Festival promises to be a good one and Tote punters could make it a day to remember too if landing the day one placepot.
Templegate has gone through the card and picked out who he fancies below.
Don't forget to take up the Tote's brilliant new customer offer, where you can bet £5 and get £20 in free bets*.
Doncaster St Leger Festival day one - Thursday 14th September
LEG 1: Strong Johnson, Rambuso Creek
STRONG JOHNSON is a consistent sprinter who scored with plenty in hand at Redcar two runs ago. He was then a little unlucky to finish only second at Ripon when he was carried across the track. He’s back off the same mark and can go close again.
Rob Burrow charity racehorse ruled out of debut after being found lame
RAMBUSO CREEK will need luck in running as he comes from the back. He finished strongly at Pontefract last time and the excellent Billy Loughnane takes over.
LEG 2: Granny Budgie, Chic Columbine
GRANNY BUDGIE has done well since switching to handicaps with wins at Ripon and Hamilton. There was some juice in the ground both times and she can improve in this stronger company.
CHIC COLUMBINE had lots left in the tank when winning at Haydock. She should be fine with this slight drop in distance and William Buick stays on board. A 6lb penalty may not put the brakes on.
TOTE: BET £5 GET £20*
LEG 3: Dragon Leader
DRAGON LEADER has won all three starts and took his form to a new level when winning a big sales race at York last time. He tanked along in front of 21 rivals and zoomed away to score by more than four lengths. The only slight doubt is the slower ground but there should be more to come.
LEG 4: Romanova, Darnation
ROMANOVA didn’t have a massive amount to beat at Salisbury last time but this Golden Horn filly did it in style, scoring by almost eight lengths. This is clearly a hotter contest but she can improve with the mile distance looking ideal.
DARNATION landed Group 3 honours at Goodwood last time, pulling away from her rivals. The ground was testing so conditions should be fine and there’s more to come after just three runs. The only worry is whether this is coming too soon after that run through the mud 19 days ago.
LEG 5: Night Sparkle, Sumo Sam
NIGHT SPARKLE has been a revelation this season and took another big step forward when winning a good Newmarket handicap over this trip last time. She has since moved to Andrew Balding and can more than hold her own in this higher grade.
SUMO SAM loved soft ground when taking the Group 2 Lillie Langtry Stakes and may get similar conditions again to prove that was no fluke.
LEG 6: Iron Lion, Wildfell
IRON LION makes his handicap debut having shed his maiden tag in good style over course and distance last time. He likes some give in the ground and has plenty more to come.
WILDFELL was impressive at Goodwood last time and is now 31lb higher in the weights than the start of the season. He has talent but the one worry is his sire has yet to have a winner over this far.
Rob Burrow's new racehorse ready to run after recovering from minor injury
Remember to gamble responsibly
A responsible gambler is someone who:
- Establishes time and monetary limits before playing
- Only gambles with money they can afford to lose
- Never chase their losses
- Doesn’t gamble if they’re upset, angry, or depressed
- Gamcare – www.gamcare.org.uk
- Gamble Aware – www.begambleaware.org
For help with a gambling problem, call the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133 or go to www.gamstop.co.uk to be excluded from all UK-regulated gambling websites.
*18+ New UK & ROI customers, online only. Place your first bet on racing pools for a minimum of £/€5 and win or lose you will receive £/€20 Tote Credit. £/€20 Tote Credit rewarded as £/€10 redeemable against racing bets only and £/€10 redeemable against UK and Irish placepot bets only. Tote Credit cannot be withdrawn, exchanged, or substituted and expires after 7 days. The qualifying bet is the first racing pool bet added to the bet slip. Ten to Follow, virtual and football bets do not qualify. Totewin will be the qualifying bet when a Totewin and a Toteplace bet are struck at the same time. Full T&Cs apply. BeGambleaware.org.