There is a lot of good racing on Saturday, with the St Leger meeting and Irish Champions' weekend kicking off at Leopardstown.
Room Service 9/1 (4pl) – Doncaster 3.00
We see horses for courses popping up in big races, so I can't see why Room Service isn't good enough to land this Group 2.
Kevin Ryan's horse is 2/2 at the track and won at this meeting last year when beating the likes of Ten Bob Tony, who is much shorter in the market. Granted, the horse I've just mentioned is 1/1 this season, but he was beaten well by Room Service that day.
Room Service has run well on two of his runs this year, mainly the second run at York behind Quinalt being the best. This will be run at a good gallop, which will suit my horse, and knowing that he loves this track, he could definitely hit the frame at the very least.
Stay True 13/2 (3pl) – Doncaster 3.40
It's probably not wise to go for Aidan's third string in a race which has been dominated in recent years by the horses towards the top of the market, but I've liked Stay True since his Derby Trial.
I thought his Derby Trial run was a good effort. The form hasn't worked out well since, but to say he was given an easy time of things is definitely an understatement. Ryan Moore's horse was the favourite in that race, and they must've liked Puppet Master at the start of the season, so getting him potentially beaten by Stay True wasn't on Aidan's list. He's not been seen a lot since, and made his return at York in the Great Voltigeur. Considering Aidan said he needed the run, like Lambourn, he ran very well. Mickael Barzalona has been booked, and he comes over for one ride, which is eye-catching.
Chicago Fireball 12/1 (5pl) – Leopardstown 2.50
Horses in handicaps like this can definitely bounce back to form, as it will have been their long-term plan. But, sticking with the form horses is definitely much safer, and I was impressed by Chicago Fireball last time out.
He won a small field event, but did it very easily. The handicapper has whacked him up in the weights, but Johnny Murtagh has decided to use the same 7lb claimer who was on board him last time out. He has won on similar ground before, and I think he is a live player in a very competitive race.
Happy Pharoah 14/1 (5pl) – Leopardstown 6.05
At decent odds, I was willing to give the three-year-old, Happy Pharoah a try in this premier handicap.
With the likes of Willie Mullins and Aidan O'Brien having horses in this race, they take up a lot of the market, so you can find decent value elsewhere. My selection is a course and distance winner, and the form of his last two runs looks decent now he's back in a handicap. He was ahead of Floresta, and then that horse reversed the form last time out. Floresta ran a decent race at Doncaster the other day in a Group 2, so if that's anything to go by, he's in with a chance with a 5lb claimer on board as well.
GambleAware