3.10pm Doncaster Tips & Betting Preview 24/10/2015

Race Time: 3.10pm Meeting: Doncaster Day: Saturday 24th October
Distance: 1m 4f  Full Race Name:  Bet Through The Racing Post App Handicap Class Two

Anything appears to go in this race with winners at odds of 28/1, 20/1, 14/1, 12/1 and so on in the last ten years so get out your needle and head off in to this particular horse racing haystack. Our first port of call as an each way option at least has to ne the Ralph Becket trained Argus (5/1) who looks well worthy of another chance at this mile and a half trip. The son of Rip Van Winkle gets plenty of weight as a three year old and has decent form on going the softer side of good which looks likely to be relevant, and with just the four career starts could well have more to give. He was only sixth on his first attempt at this trip after wins over ten furlongs at Ripon and Windsor but we wonder if this is a slightly weaker race and as they continue to persevere stepped up in trip who are we to argue?

Wakea (11/1) is an interesting one despite the burden of top weight and unites Frankie Dettori with Newmarket trainer Jeremy Noseda, just like back in the good old days. Yet to win on the turf after five starts, all his best runs have been on the all-weather with wins at Wolverhampton and Kempton (twice), with stamina his strong point and this mile and a half very possibly a bit too short to see him at his best these days. One thing he will be doing is running on late through beaten horses but as we haven’t seen him in action since April, once again we worry that this is little more than primer ahead of an all-weather winter campaign.

David Barron is a trainer who we underestimate at our peril and he has Esteaming (10/1) in here and at his best, the son of Derby winner Sir Percy could yet get involved. A year and a half or so without a win in fifteen races is enough to put us off, but he does have some acceptable placed form to his name of late including a third to Lahayeb last time out at Nottingham, and off the same mark today he may yet struggle in to a place.

Andrew Balding is a trainer we have a lot of time for and if he allows Storm Force Ten (8/1) to return to the fray here, then he would be a pretty appropriate winner looking out of the window! Not seen in anger since winning at Chester over this sort of trip on soft ground back in early May, he has been put up six pounds for that win but that seems pretty generous for a horse who was eased down near the line, and as he likes to front run, he ought to be able to keep out of trouble however large the field today. With going and trip in his favour he seems sure to run well, we just wish we knew his fitness level after so long off the track which implies he has had issues of some kind.

Blue Hussar (10/1) is our last each way option of choice for now, and arrives here on the back of a comfortable Ripon victory in lower class off a rating eight pounds lower than he faces up to here. Trained by the likeable Micky Hammond, that was only his second win in thirteen starts which is a worry, but then again they may have found the key to him and with his less fashionable than most connections (no offence Micky), he could yet be overpriced and another to think about ahead of any each way silly bets.