Trainer Ed McMahon is
confident Winning Express can get back to winning ways in the £60,000
Group Three Japan Racing Association Sceptre Stakes (2.10pm) over seven
furlongs on the second day of the Ladbrokes St Leger Festival, DFS Ladies' Day
at Doncaster on Thursday, September 12.
The three-year-old
daughter of Camacho was beaten three quarters of a length by Royal Ascot
heroine Annecdote in the Group Three Oak Tree Stakes at Glorious
Goodwood on August 2, having scored impressively in a Listed contest at Warwick
in June.
Winning Express has proved
herself one of the leading fillies of her generation on more than one occasion,
finishing fourth behind Sky Lantern in the fillies' Classic, the QIPCO 1000
Guineas at Newmarket in May, and second in the Cheveley Park Stakes at
Newmarket in September, 2012.
McMahon reported:
"Winning Express ran well at Goodwood and was probably beaten by a better
filly on the day, but we will see.
"We are running
against Annecdote again with a 3lb pull in the weights and I don't think the
competition is any harder than it was at Goodwood.
"If you wanted to
look at statistics on paper, the 3lb is probably enough to give us the upper
hand, but it all depends on how things pan out on the day.
"We are entitled to
be hopeful and I'm not frightened of anything, but things can go wrong in a
race - you can get trapped in pockets - so I'm just looking for a good run.
"At this time of
year, especially because she wants decent ground, you are running out of
options and I haven't really got any more targets after this race. I had
thought about going to Keeneland, but it's quite an expense to get out there
and she is only a three-year-old. That's on the backburner anyway."
Winning Express, with
Graham Lee up for the first time, will clash with nine rivals, including dual
Group Three scorer Maureen and French 1,000 Guineas fourth Zurigha,
both trained by Richard Hannon, and last year's Weatherbys Hamilton Insurance
£300,000 2-Y-O Stakes winner The Gold Cheongsam.
A total of 10 fillies and
mares will also go to post for the feature race on DFS Ladies' Day, the £90,000
Group Two DFS Park Hill Stakes (3.15pm) over an extended 14 furlongs, the same
distance as the Ladbrokes St Leger
The field includes
Investec Oaks third The Lark, one of two runners for Newmarket trainer
Michael Bell, Seal Of Approval, who completed a hat-trick of wins in a
12-furlong Listed event at Newbury on August 4, and Group Three Lilly Langtry
Stakes third Alta Lilea.
A field of 22 will line up
in the Weatherbys Hamilton Insurance £300,000 2-Y-O Stakes (2.40pm), while some
more future stars could be on show in the £12,000 Crownhotel-Bawtry.com EBF
Maiden (3.50pm, 11 runners). The mile contest has thrown up some top-class
performers in recent seasons, including dual Group One hero Nathaniel, 2009
Ladbrokes St Leger runner-up Kite Wood, and 2009 DFS Park Hill Stakes winner
The Miniver Rose.
The action gets underway
at 1.40pm with the £30,000 EBF Carrie Red Fillies' Nursery (14 runners) and
concludes with the £15,000 Download The Ladbrokes Bingo App Handicap (4.25pm,
22 runners) over six furlongs and the £25,000 DFS Handicap (5.00pm, 14 runners)
over a mile and quarter.
Going
The going at Doncaster has
changed today to Good (from Good, Good to Firm in places).
Roderick Duncan,
Doncaster's Clerk of the Course, said today: "We had four millimetres of
rain at Doncaster yesterday but there has been no further rainfall today, bar
the odd spot or two.
"There could be some
more rain around tomorrow with the current forecast indicating we could get up
to three millimetres."
Ticket
Update
Badges for hospitality
areas and the County Enclosure on Ladbrokes St Leger Day (Saturday, September
14) are now sold out, with the remaining enclosures (Family and Grandstand) selling
well. Racegoers are advised to book as soon as possible to avoid
disappointment.
County Enclosure badges
for DFS Ladies' Day are also proving popular and again racegoers are advised to
book in advance.
To book tickets, please
contact Doncaster Racecourse on 01302 304200 or go to www.doncaster-racecourse.co.uk
About the
Ladbrokes St Leger Festival
The Ladbrokes St Leger
Festival is the jewel in the crown of horseracing in Yorkshire and the
showpiece of Doncaster's social calendar. Racegoers enjoy a delightful blend of
history, quality racing and live entertainment across the four-day racing
extravaganza. The 2013 renewal takes place from Wednesday, September 11 through
to Saturday, September 14 inclusive.
Since the first running of
the St Leger in 1776, racegoers from all over the country have been drawn to
Doncaster to capture a taste of the unique atmosphere.
The famous Festival is one
of the highlights of the Flat racing calendar. The crescendo builds to
Saturday, when the flagship event - the illustrious Ladbrokes St Leger - takes
centre-stage.
The meeting also features
a number of high-class supporting races, highlights being the Crown Hotel
Bawtry Scarbrough Stakes on the Crown Hotel Bawtry Opening Day (Wednesday), the
DFS Park Hill Stakes on DFS Ladies' Day (Thursday), the Speedy Services
Doncaster Cup on Friday and the At The Races Champagne Stakes and OLBG Park
Stakes on Saturday.
To book tickets, please
contact Doncaster Racecourse on 01302 304200 or go to www.doncaster-racecourse.co.uk
Doncaster Racecourse's
dedicated Ladbrokes St Leger microsite can be found at www.doncaster-racecourse.co.uk/st-leger
No comments:
Post a Comment