Nick Luck’s William Hill blog: Doncaster St Leger Festival Day One Preview

William Hill ambassador previews Day One of the St Leger Festival from Doncaster on Thursday, with five picks across the Town Moor card.

Doncaster, Thursday

SCATTER PENNY looks the answer to a furiously hard nursery that kicks off the Leger Festival on Thursday (1.50). She still looks quite well treated on the balance of her first two runs and was fancied to go close at York. She walked out of the stalls that day and was never really at the races on a track that heavily favoured speed. She ran on quite nicely despite not having the rub of the green, in a manner that suggested an extra half furlong mightn’t go amiss. With a tongue tie applied, she remains interesting.

INTRUSIVELY gets the nod in the sales’ race (2.25). The trainer continues to impress (likewise the rider), and this colt appeared to excel himself in the Richmond when still a maiden. But there are grounds for believing he was better even than that run, as he looked ill at ease on the track and – using pedigree as a guide – would probably prefer a slightly easier surface. The slight increase in distance ought to play in his favour, too, and this looks a good opportunity.

MISS TONNERRE looks really interesting at a price in the May Hill (3.00). This is obviously a massive step up, but the trainer has enough stakes class two-year-olds to know when a leap from a maiden to a Group 2 might be warranted, and he’s working with classily bred material here, with a pedigree that hints at a mile now and a good bit further down the track. The July course debut win was achieved against the prevailing track bias and despite considerable greenness. She is certainly a contender to hit the frame at big odds.

GRATEFUL can win the Park Hill (3.35). She’s a pretty smart filly and a pretty strong stayer at this trip, with scope to progress to boot. At the time of writing, she’s twice the price of Night Sparkle, to whom she would have finished quite close at Goodwood had she been better positioned in a steadily run race. That set-up won’t be repeated here, and she can build on her earlier form against better fancied rivals with slight queries over their optimum distance.

PROMETHEAN looks typical of his trainer’s skill in the ten-furlong handicap (4.10). Improving steadily with each run – and with a nice bit of experience under his belt now – he posted a career best last time, was unlucky not to win, has only been nudged up two pounds, and the form has already taken a boost.