Timeform TV Focus: ITV racing tips for Doncaster and Salisbury on Friday

The Timeform Jury provide their best bets on all the ITV action!

The crack team of analysts, reporters, and handicappers behind their world-renowned data and ratings help you find more value every week with leading insight and winning picks.

You can now take advantage of their decades of racing knowledge for free with Sporting Life Plus, available from 11am on the morning of all ITV racedays

Doncaster

1.50 1 pt ew – 4 Dream Harder 

Hardly a surprise to see the 3-y-os dominating the market given both are recent winners but it’s debatable whether they should be quite as short as initial odds have them. No doubt East India Dock was a ready winner at Goodwood last time, but it’s possible he’s a better horse over 2m than this trip and while Ryan Moore up for the first time is never a negative, he’s replacing a handy 5-lb claimer and East India Dock is definitely going to have to step up again. Similar comments apply to Subsequent even if he proved this trip suits better than shorter with a win at Newmarket last time. Shadow Dancer looks to have similar claims to that pair given his progressive form over shorter but it’s another who has some good form over a mile and a half that looks overpriced in the shape of Dream Harder. The Ian Williams stable is hardly short of similar types, Oneforthegutter finishing third in the Ebor over this trip while Dancing In Paris filled the same position in the Old Borough Cup at the weekend, and Dream Harder actually finished ahead of Dancing In Paris when second to Insanity at the Shergar Cup two starts ago. He wasn’t in the same form when readily outspeeded in the Racing League at Southwell last time and needs to bounce back, but the chance of that seems far more likely than his dismissive odds suggest, with the booking of Jamie Spencer catching the eye given his one-in-five strike rate for the yard. 

2.25 0.5 pt – 1 Benevento

Benevento was sharp enough to win a 5f maiden in May but, judged on pedigree, he’s no win-or-bust juvenile lacking long-term potential. Following that Yarmouth win, Benevento didn’t reappear for whatever reason until the Ripon 2-y-o Trophy last month, but he emerged with credit given that absence in getting closest to improving Soldier’s Heart, who was in the zone at the time and had routed his rivals at that track the time before, having started at 6/1 for the Molecomb at Glorious Goodwood. But it isn’t just the lack of racing under his belt that gives rise to the belief he can improve plenty more, as he’s a Wootton Bassett half-brother to middle-distance performance Polling Day out of a dam whose career high came when winning a Prix Daniel Wildenstein as a four-year-old back in 2013. It’s no race for a strong view but Benevento’s potential to progress probably hasn’t been factored enough into the prices with the market all over once-raced winner Jonquil as well as Godolphin’s Symbol of Honour, who hasn’t been seen since the Coventry at Royal Ascot.

3.00 1 pt – 4 Big Mojo

There were many performances from the Ebor meeting worthy of the notebook but not many more so than Big Mojo’s fourth in the Gimcrack, during which he tanked his way into a challenging position rather away from the main action only to give best as the extra distance seemed to take its toll. Rarely does a run scream ‘drop in trip’ as much as that one did and there’s also substance to Big Mojo’s claims beyond that angle as well, as he’d belied long odds when taking a major step forward from his debut to thwart the reopposing placed pair Aesterius and stablemate Mr Lightside to land the Molecomb at Glorious Goodwood. Mick Appleby training good-class juvenile winners has gone from rarity to rather more routine in the last couple of years and Big Mojo can emulate the same connections’ ever-popular Big Evs by taking this valuable prize – he certainly should be favourite to do so in any case.

3.35 1 pt – 1 Coltrane

Perhaps not an especially compelling betting race, something of a theme in these staying events in recent years with the will he/won’t he run saga that usually precedes Trueshan’s appearances, and this has the makings of a messy race to boot. Gregory is likely to go forward, but he’s looked short of pace at this level this year and it would be no surprise to see him either outspeeded in the finish once more or have too much use made of him attempting to compensate for that. Sweet William has arguably been seen to maximum effect running through beaten horses when behind Kyprios the last twice and, with Point Lonsdale remaining with stamina to prove, this might fall the way of Coltrane by default. He’s been a grand servant down the years, winning this in 2022, and though he might not be the force of old he was still good enough to win the Sagaro back in May. He bombed out at Goodwood when last seen but, at around the same odds now that he was against Kyprios and co. in the Gold Cup, he looks worth chancing.

4.10 2 pts – 4 Cabrera

Beatrice Shilling and Miss Alpilles are not yet exposed by any means and likely have more to offer at this trip, but it’s hard to get away from the progressive Cabrera, and she may well be hard to beat. She’s really got her act together of late, looking well suited by the combination of sound pace and galloping track when scoring readily over course and distance in July, and she improved again when finishing second – the pair of them a very long way clear of the rest – on her handicap debut at Newmarket last time. Both of those last 2 runs have been backed up by the clock, she may well have more to offer after just 6 starts, and her trainer’s record at big meetings this year provides further confidence in her chance.

Salisbury

3.55 1 pt – 2 Greydreambeliever

The two at the top of the betting for the Dick Poole, Tabiti and Jewelry, both made very good impressions when winning their sole starts to date, and both are obviously very plausible winners, but Greydreambeliever achieved at least as much in form terms when winning on her debut at York and looks the one to be on at a bigger price. Admittedly, the form of that win has been a bit mixed so far, but the timefigure was very good, she’s been given plenty of time to get over that and, with a physique to back up that very positive first impression, she’s the one we want to be on.

Safer gambling

We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.

If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.

Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.