Silver set for more Gold

Frustratingly on Thursday unless you had a SkyBet account Gods Given Talent just missed out on the places in the big sales race finishing 5th. King of Earth as predicted again lacked focus on racing and finished well beaten after drifting from 4/1 -11/1.

Quite Cheeky 7/1 won on debut at Epsom under tender handling from Ceiren Fallon, the 7f trip was a minimum for the Teofilio colt in what may turn out to be a weak contest.

Lady Rosalind ran very poorly in the Nursery at Lingfield, finishing last and she continues to be totally out of form.

A big weekend ahead starts with Silver Lake on Friday

The Night of Thunder filly Silver Lake looks set to secure a fourth success of the campaign in the 1m4f fillies’ handicap at Doncaster, scheduled for 3:35 on Friday.

This season, her owners Wathnan Racing have established themselves at the top table of global racing, enjoying major success at leading festivals across the UK and overseas.

Silver Lake has played a key role in that success, scoring impressive victories at Goodwood and York. Crucially, she is retained in handicap company as she steps up to 12 furlongs for the first time.

She was purchased by Wathnan at the Tattersalls October Book 1 sale as a yearling for 420,000gns. Her pedigree offers compelling evidence that further progress will be unlocked over 1m4f—her dam Kirstenbosch was Group 3-placed over 1m4f, while her second dam, Kassiyra, produced the Group 3-winning 1m4f performer Cheetah. The wider family is rich in top-class staying talent, featuring Irish St Leger winner Kastoria and Prix Kergorlay winner Kassani.

The decision to remain at this level rather than immediately seek Black Type strongly indicates that William Haggas expects further improvement, hinting that she will stay in training as a four-year-old.

Friday’s contest looks ideally setup for an in-form James Doyle (currently operating at a 7-for-15 strike rate) to cross from stall 9 and dictate terms from the front. At York, she was held up and prevailed despite virtually everything going wrong; it was her sheer tenacity and stamina that saw her erase a three-length deficit inside the final furlong to score by a head.

William Haggas boasts a formidable 42% strike rate with market leaders at Doncaster’s St Leger meeting. That statistic alone suggests she should be priced nearer 6/4, making any available 2/1 look exceptionally generous before expected market support takes hold on the day.

While the main opposition has stood its ground, the older mares look up against it against the three-year-olds, who have dominated this race by winning the last five renewals. Indeed, last year’s running was taken by Cape Flora, who defied a 9lb rise after winning the very same York contest that Silver Lake landed in August.

Nochebuena possesses an intriguing pedigree, but available evidence suggests she requires faster ground and a stiffer test of stamina than looks likely to materialize on Friday.

Haggas has targeted this race sparingly, saddling just three fillies across its previous nine runnings. Two of those scored at Evens and 2/1, while the third was beaten just a neck at 9/2.

Win or lose, Silver Lake presents a compelling case as a cast-iron 3-point selection.

Bet: Already Advised: 3pt win Silver Lake (3:35 Doncaster).

She looks the only betting opportunity on the day. Perfect Strike is intriguing dropped to 5f in the opening contest (2.01 Sandown). The Boughey filly Ivory Moon will be odds on, however I will be keeping a close eye on Perfect Strike with future Nursery contests in mind.

Antonova is a really nice filly but best watched on debut in the 4.10 at Doncaster. She will need further and time to strengthen.

Finally the erratic Vanilla Skies makes her handicap debut – Sandown 4.57 but does not look well treated from an opening mark of 77.