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Doncaster Expert Eye: Course stats and three horses to back for profit

The Lincoln meeting concludes on Sunday with a tricky-looking seven-race card and some help is at hand from the experts here at Planet Sport.

We have three outright selections, two of which are at double-figure prices, along with some useful course stats, all of which might just help you turn a profit on the day.

We'll also point you in the direction of the Planet Sport Live Centre as it's here you'll find the highly informative Doncaster race card.

Selections:

Shark Two One each-way (14.00 Doncaster)

Gustav Holst each-way (15.45 Doncaster)

Throne Hall (16.50 Doncaster)

Course characteristics

Left-handed, pear-shaped, galloping circuit. Almost 2 miles round with a 4.5f run-in. Round and straight miles. Mainly flat, providing a fair test, and free-draining, meaning it rarely gets testing.

Top trainers with runners

The in-form Roger Varian (3-8 in the last fortnight) has trained most winners here over the past five seasons, with 32 of his 136 runners (24%) finding the winners' enclosure.

His sole representative this afternoon, Goemon, who runs in the first division of the 7f novice stakes (14.35), is well worth a look then.
Richard Hannon and Richard Fahey are next best over the same period with 25 and 23 winners respectively, although neither's strike (11% an 9%) makes them worth following blind.

That said, we're sweet on the chances of a stable representative of each.

Top jockeys with rides

Andrea Atzeni rides this track as well as any of his fellow jockeys and his 26 winners here have come at a punter-friendly strike rate of 18% (147 rides).
He gets the leg up on the aforementioned Goemon along with a couple of handicappers: Chairmanoftheboard (16.20) and Merlin's Lady (17.25).

Furthest travelled

Jim Goldie, who is based near Glasgow, is making the 245 miles trip with the fancied pair of Euchen Glen (16.50) and Annandale (15.45).

Keith Dalgleish (223 miles), who landed yesterday's Cammidge Trophy with Volatile Analyst, has two runners on the card including the favourite for the opening amateur jockey's handicap (13.25) in El Picador. The other being Howzer Black (15.45).

14.00 Doncaster - Shark Two One each-way

An impossible-looking 7f handicap and stakes are best kept to a minimum, but there's enough juice in the price of Richard Fahey's four-year-old to tempt us in.
The son of Adaay was smart at two with one of his two wins including a valuable sales race at the Curragh, where he just prevailed from Star Of Orion, who is now a 100-rated handicapper and was just touched off in last season's International Stakes at Ascot.
The selection failed to add to those gains when upped in grade at three, beginning life in handicaps on a stiffish mark of 95, but he's come down the weights now and starts this current campaign on a more winnable perch of 83.
He's also been gelded since his last run in October, which might be just what he needs to fulfil his true potential, and we can also take plenty of encouragement from the recent the words of his trainer Richard Fahey, who describes him as being "fit and well" ahead of his return to action.
He ideally wants a little dig in the ground but as long as it's no faster than good he should be fine.

15.45 Doncaster - Gustav Holst each-way

It could be worth taking a chance on the fitness of Richard Hannon's four-year-old on his first start since finishing runner-up at Chelmsford last October.
The horse that beat him on that occasion, Emblem Empire, is a smart sort and is now rated 94, so the selection is potentially very well treated on a mark of 76, meaning he's getting weight from all of today's rivals.
He's also been gelded since that run, which was following wind surgery, and he has an eye-catching pedigree too, being a son of outstanding sire Sea The Stars and a full brother to a Al Muffrih, who won twice on the level and achieved a peak rating of 97 in that sphere.
His apprentice rider Thore Hammer Hansen rode out his claim last autumn but he's continued to catch the eye since, with five winners on the board in the current year and 47 in total for the yard.

16.50 Doncaster - Throne Hall

Euchen Glen is the best of these on official ratings but he's penalised and is giving upwards of 5lb to his six rivals, while Cesarewitch third Calling The Wind is ideally suited to further than today's trip of 1m4f and may need his first run back.
Archie Watson's Throne Hall also has a long absence to overcome but first time out may be the best time to catch him as he's won on his seasonal reappearance for the last two seasons, including at this meeting 12 months ago.
He failed to add to that to that in six subsequent runs but he ran well in defeat and there was no disgrace in finishing a close-up second to the now 102-rated Golden Pass at Thirsk in April, when conceding that horse 9lb.
He'd probably had enough for the season when finishing last of the eight finishers at Chester in September, when the ground was softer than ideal, and the booking of Hollie Doyle, who has a very fair strike rate of 21% (161-780) on the stable runners, is another positive.

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