Calendar Girl was another winner at Doncaster for Owen Burrows, who continues to improve his impressive strike rate at the South Yorkshire track.
If I were on course, I would have been tempted to bin my betting slip from the beginning. She was under pressure from the first furlong, and it didn't look likely that a win was on the cards. She then made up some ground in the middle of the race, but was still at least six or seven lengths behind the leader with two furlongs to go. Entering the final furlong, she was coming with a strong challenge, but I had doubts that she'd get there in time; thankfully, she did.
Danielle, later on at Doncaster, had no excuses. She was positioned just behind the leader and eventual winner, but lacked the gears to apply the pressure and go past. Fair play to the winner, who was given a good ride from the front. No one pestered Tom Marquand for the lead, and he took full advantage.
Promethean 6/1 (1pt) – Doncaster 1.15
It's quite crazy how Promethean only managed to break his maiden tag at the twelfth time of asking in France last time out. He had shown good form from his juvenile days to before last time out across many different trips, but maybe last time out was proof that longer trips and rain-softened ground are what he prefers.
In France at Clairefontaine, he managed to win on his second attempt over 12f, and he did it in good fashion. I don't think the form is very special, but he ran on like longer trips will be even better for him. His handicap mark is 2lb lower than when he raced at York the time before last time out, and when you combine that with 5lb claimer Warren Fentiman in the saddle, he looks nicely weighted.
This is a very tough race, and my selection has to prove he can compete against these better horses. However, he is still very unexposed as a stayer, and this is his first attempt at 14f. David Menuisier is a very good target trainer, and the fact that they've secured Warren in the saddle shows real intent.
Hankelow 7/2 (1pt) – Doncaster 1.50
I've not had a great time backing two-year-olds this season, but I saw Hankelow on his debut at York when he beat a previous selection of mine. I really liked what I saw from him that day, and based on that performance, I'm going to give him a chance in a better race.
I tipped up Crest Of Fire in a Class 2 race at York, and I was very sweet on that horse's chances. That horse had good form, running in a hot Newbury maiden race which had produced plenty of winners. Hankelow turned up on debut, not overly backed in the market, and blew them all away. You could tell he was professional enough to win emphatically on debut, but there was still plenty of room for improvement, with the experience gained being a big factor for the future.
Karl Burke has done extremely well with his two-year-old crop this year, so it's interesting that this is the horse he's eyed up this race for. I think he could be very smart, and the slower ground should not be an issue with him being a son of Night Of Thunder.
GambleAware