Eight-race card at Doncaster as big-gun Newmarket trainers send their top prospects north

The racing gets underway at 2.00 with an amateur jockey's handicap, and rounds off at 6.00 with a class 5 handicap worth more than £10,000 to the winner.

The first race sees the amateur jockeys take centre stage and Thomas Easterby, son of trainer David, looks to have leading claims aboard Marbuzet over an extended two-mile trip around Doncaster.

Marbuzet arrives here in the best form, finishing second in a handicap race at Nottingham just five days ago and looked like he could do with a step up in trip. The main threat appears to be coming from Never No Trouble, switching to the Flat again after two runners-up finishes over hurdles this season.

A class 5 handicap is next on the agenda at 2.35 where Storm Fox, another trained by David Easterby, arrives off the back of a fine win at Thirsk last month and two second-place finishes at Leicester and Redcar.

Another three-year-old in the race, South Dakota Sioux, also arrives at Doncaster bang in form after a win at Wetherby last month and a second at Wolverhampton.

Race three is a Division One Maiden Stakes for two-year-olds and the nod here goes to Free Nation, who shaped well when second of nine in a maiden at Windsor 17 days back. A lot of his opponents on Thursday have yet to race but there are some intriguing runners from established yards, such as the Sir Michael Stoute-trained Point Given and Speeding bullet for Richard Hannon.

Another Maiden Stakes, this time in Division Two, is next on the card at 3.45 where Classy Boy is an interesting debutante for the Karl Burke stable, who has cost a fair bit of cash to get to this point for the yard. How’s The Guvnor, a twice-raced colt, has appeal on paper as well when finishing second of eight at Nottingham last week.

Up next at 4.20 is a Novice Stakes in Division One where a traveller from the Newmarket yard of William Haggas is a strong contender. Molaqab was fourth of seven on debut at the Suffolk track and is very much open to improvement for one of Flat racing’s premier yards, while another big-name trainer in George Boughey sends Mezon, a £43,000 filly by Caravaggio, to have a crack over this 6f trip.

A Division Two Novice Stakes is up next on the card at 4.55 and Couplet is very much in the farme, returning after a win over this distance at Haydock and a nine-month lay-off since. Primeval, a filly of Lope De Vega and a half-sister to several top class winners, certainly has the pedigree to be right up there for the Harry and Roger Charlton yard.

Race seven is a 7f Handicap where course and distance winner Another Batt makes his return to Doncaster off a hugely competitive mark and back down in class to boot. Cliffcake has finished first and second in his last two starts and has good form heading into this one, while Mobashr lived up to his billing when winning at Doncaster earlier this month and hasn’t been overly penalised for that success.

The final race on the card is another handicap, this time over an extended 7f trip. Panning For Gold got off the mark at Yarmouth last month and followed that up with a tougher win at Brighton, defying a penalty in the process. The chief threat looks to be coming from Chorus Line, a recent winner at Leicester over the same trip.

Doncaster Thursday selections

2.00 - Marbuzet

2.35 - South Dakota Sioux

3.10 - Speeding Bullet

3.45 - Classy Boy

4.20 - Molaqab

4.55 - Primeval

5.30 - Cliffcake

6.00 - Chorus Line

Preview supplied by Racing TV