The highlight on day two
of the Ladbrokes St Leger Festival, DFS Ladies Day, Thursday, September 13, is
the £80,000 Group Two DFS Park Hill Stakes (2.55pm) over an extended mile and
six furlongs.
The contest, sometimes
referred to as the 'fillies' St Leger', will see nine runners go to post headed
by Sir Henry Cecil's impressive Group Three iShares Fillies' Stakes scorer Wild
Coco. The four-year-old will clash again with The Queen's Royal Ascot
heroine Estimate and Hazel Lavery, trained by Charlie Hills, who
were third and ninth respectively at Goodwood.
Roger Varian will saddle
progressive three-year-old Ambivalent, who was last seen winning the
Listed Chalice Stakes by a length and a half over 12 furlongs at Newbury on
August 5. Prior to that, she had taken third behind Hazel Lavery in a Listed
race at Newmarket on July 21, beaten four lengths.
Bruce Raymond, racing
manager to Ambivalent's owner Abdullah Saeed Belhab, said: "I saw
Ambivalent this morning and she is in top form so we are hopeful. She is an
improving filly and it's a big step up for her but we think she is improving
enough to put up a good show.
"She won nicely at
Newbury last time. She is improving all the time and she enjoyed the faster
ground because she didn't like it soft at Newmarket the time before that.
"We are confident she
will stay the trip."
The Clive Brittain-trained
Alsindi is among 18 runners in the £55,000 Group Three Japan Racing
Association Sceptre Stakes (1.50pm) and Raymond added: "Alsindi has not
run since the Italian 1,000 Guineas because she came back a bit sore and jarred
up. We have given her a good rest and she is working very nicely now.
"I'm hopeful rather
than confident because it's a Group Three and she is up against it. I think she
is back to her best now, which she will need to be, but there could be some
improvement to come.
"She had good form as
a two-year-old and I think the seven furlongs at Doncaster is a good starting
point for her."
The runners for the
seven-furlong contest for fillies and mares include UAE Classic scorer Gamilati,
dual Group Three winner Regal Realm and the highly-regarded Sentaril.
The action on DFS Ladies
Day gets underway at 1.15pm with the £30,000 European Breeders' Fund Carrie Red
Fillies' Nursery (20 runners) over an extended six furlongs, while the most
valuable race on the card is the Weatherbys Insurance £300,000 2-Y-O Stakes
(2.20pm, 22 runners) over the same distance.
The third race of the day
for two-year-olds is the competitive £11,500 crownhotel-bawtry.com Irish EBF
Maiden (3.30pm, 15 runners) over a mile.
The penultimate race on a
seven-race card is the £15,000 Ladbrokes Bingo Handicap (4.05pm, 22 runners)
over six furlongs and the action is concluded with the £25,000 DFS Handicap
(4.35pm, six runners) over a mile and a quarter.
Along with the Group One Ladbrokes
St Leger, Saturday's card also features a pair of Group Two contests headed by
the £100,000 OLBG Park Stakes (4.15pm) over seven furlongs.
Among the 14 confirmations
is Lethal Force, who responded to a change of headgear and front-running
tactics when winning the Group Two Hungerford Stakes by a neck from Strong Suit
on August 18.
The three-year-old,
trained by Clive Cox, was beaten into second place in a conditions race at
Haydock in July, having run an excellent race at Royal Ascot when fourth in the
Group Three Jersey Stakes.
Cox, who trains in
Lambourn, said: "Lethal Force is likely to run in the OLBG Park Stakes. I
have been very happy with him since his win at Newbury and he has been in great
nick.
"I wasn't surprised
by his win at Newbury. The first-time blinkers helped him concentrate but he
had never been beaten further than three lengths in his life and he had run in
Group Two races before.
"Admittedly, he was
beaten in a small field conditions race at Haydock the time before but that was
a tactical affair and didn't play to our strengths, so we decided to make the
running at Newbury.
"I would be hoping
for some nice, fast ground at Doncaster."
Other notable entries in
the OLBG Park Stakes include multiple Group One winner Starspangledbanner,
Irish 2,000 Guineas runner-up Foxtrot Romeo, Richard Hannon's Strong
Suit and Pastoral Player, trained by Hughie Morrison.
The other Group Two on
Saturday's card is the £82,100 One Call Insurance Champagne Stakes (2.25pm, 15
entries) which could see the return of unbeaten Group Three Acomb Stakes winner
Dundonnell, the highly regarded Toronado, and Godolphin's Royal
Ascot hero Tha'ir, who has been supplemented.
Every race at the four-day
Ladbrokes St Leger Festival will broadcast live on At The Races.
GOING
The going at Doncaster is
currently:
GOOD, GOOD TO FIRM IN
PLACES
Clerk of the Course Jon
Pullin said today: "We had 2.5 millimetres of rain overnight and it has
been quite breezy today.
"The forecast is for
some rain tomorrow, with around four to five millimetres predicted during the
afternoon.
"From Thursday onwards,
it should be dry with daytime temperatures of 18 to 20 degrees Celsius."
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