Doncaster Racecourse: Preview and tips for Saturday’s eight-race card - including Futurity Trophy Stakes

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The final Group 1 Flat race of the British season takes place at Doncaster on Saturday with the £215,000 Futurity Trophy Stakes.

The feature on the card is underway at 2.40pm with eight two-year-old runners tackling the mile distance at Doncaster but it forms part of a top-class eight-race card gets underway at 1.30pm with The Doncaster Stakes and rounds off at 5.30pm with a division two handicap in class four.

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Read below to discover the latest tips and preview of the Doncaster card on Saturday with data and insights provided by the expert racecards available on The Horse's Mouth.

The opening contest on the Doncaster card sees a field of eight take to the track for the six furlong Doncaster Stakes, a class one contest with £28,355 up for grabs to the winner (1.30). Diego Ventura was a promising second in a Newmarket Group 3 last month and should find this shorter and speedier trip to his liking for trainer Hamad Al Jehani, who has jocked up James Doyle for the ride and boasts a 20% strike rate when racing at Doncaster.

Photo by Alan Crowhurst/Getty ImagesPhoto by Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images
Photo by Alan Crowhurst/Getty Images

Aberama Gold looks to be the play in race two of Saturday’s card in the class two handicap over five furlongs (2.05). The David O’Meara-trained seven-year-old has shown solid enough form in this sphere, fourth of ten at Catterick last time out and in his career has a 37% win rate in class two races from 37 runs.

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The feature race of the day is up next at 2.40 as eight runners tackle the Futurity Trophy Stakes, the final Group 1 of the British Flat season and a very cool £127,576 heading the way of the winner. Powerhouse Irish trainer Aidan O’Brien has a stunning record in this race with 11 wins and recent Autumn Stakes winner Delacroix should have a huge say in proceedings here. Anno Domini was a hefty 525,000 Guineas breeze-up purchase for the Godolphin team and has two wins from two heading here, though this is a huge jump in class but can certainly make his presence felt for trainer Charlie Appleby.

Nebras is a half-brother to the top-class Nashwa and connections have taken the plunge after a fine debut win at Newmarket earlier this month, another one very much in at the deep end here with just one run under his belt but it was an impressive success in that maiden. However, preference in the Futurity Stakes heads the way of Wimbledon Hawkeye for trainer James Owen. The Kameko colt can become the first runner since Elm Park in 2014 to complete the Royal Lodge and Futurity double, having completed the first leg just under a month ago and is likely capable of even better.

After the Lord Mayor’s Show is where the card calms down a little bit but the quality on show is no less. A big-field handicap marks race four on the day at 3.15, with a cracking contest for the three-year-old’s. Arguably the most progressive type on display is City Of Delight, a winner of four on the spin this summer for David Menuisier and is only hiked up another 2lb in the weights for that last success and looks way ahead of his official mark of 81. The booking of William Buick on board is a plus too with his 24% hit rate at Doncaster.

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A field of 11 will take on the class three nursery over seven furlongs (3.50) and Charlie Appleby’s Wild Nature looks the one to beat, placed on all three starts so far including a good second at newmarket three weeks ago, while race six (4.25) can go the way of Thunder Roar, a previous course and distance winner who thrives on slow ground as is expected on Saturday and has three wins in this sphere to boot.

A couple of class four handicaps round off the Saturday card at Doncaster, with division one up first at 5.00 and Richard Fahey’s runner Zip is the selection in the penultimate contest, a three-time course and distance winner that showed shoots of recover when sixth of ten at leicester on heavy ground 11 days ago.

Finally, the meeting comes to a close with division two of the same discipline at 5.30 and preference in the finale heads the way Arctic Dawn, much improved this year for trainers Daniel and Claire Kubler after some placed efforts on the all-weather and makes his handicap debut here with more to offer.

Doncaster selections - Saturday

1.30 - Diego Ventura

2.05 - Aberama Gold

2.40 - Wimbledon Hawkeye

3.15 - City Of Delight

3.50 - Wild Nature

4.25 - Thunder Roar

5.00 - Zip

5.30 - Arctic Dawn

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