By Tony Calvin - 26 March 2026
Fifteen remain in the Brocklesby (from 22), run in honour of the late Bill Turner this year, and Amo Racing’s Blixen Force remains the favourite, at 15/8 (he was 2s ante-post) in this contest of unraced 2yos.
He was 9-4 as at 4.45pm on Friday.
Trainer Robson De Aguiar and the owner (who won this in 2022 and 2025 and had one just touched off in 2023) also have Ocean Club in here, and both horses are sired by the 2022 winner of this race, Persian Force.
Going into Friday’s racing, the stable are 0-2 with their juveniles in Ireland , but they were second and third in the same Curragh maiden, with one beaten a head at [5/6].
He has two juveniles in a Dundalk maiden tonight (he has first and second favourite in a five-runner race). They finished 1-2.
Nobody is going to fall over if either of his two in here win – the owner likes them revved up first time up – but how can you have a betting opinion in a field of 15 newcomers?
Other trainers who have won this race in recent years and are represented this time around are Richard Hannon (his A Bear Affair was cut into 7-2 as at 4.45pm on Friday), Dylan Cunha and the Faheys.
Kathy Turner (daughter of Bill) had three in here at the five-day stage and she relies on the aptly-named Nevernotrememberu, and the 2,000 guineas yearling could get a sentimental few quid from some at 40s.
I can’t see the logic in wasting a few pence on this race myself.
I am not even going to have a cheap pop at the paddock spoofers, who will surely be out in Force here…(see what I did there).
This isn’t my bag then, but I’ll put in an excellent word for Dan Briden’s Sporting Life column on this race.
It is superb, detailed work.
The link is here if you want to cut and paste it and have a butchers; https://www.sportinglife.com/racing/news/william-hill-bill-turner-memorial-ebf-brocklesby-stakes-pedigree-preview-and-views-from-connections/231118
SATURDAY MORNING BETTING UPDATE (7.13am): A Bear Affair and Blixen Force are now joint-favourites at 10/3. Dance A Jig is into 11/2, which may be coming under pressure.
We only lost two here at the overnight stage (Divine Libra and Unique Journey), so the 6f Listed Cammidge Trophy hasn’t got a whole heap easier to solve.
It houses the last two winners of this race in Spycatcher and Montassib (the former carries a 5lb penalty, along with Annaf and Art Power) and several other similarly-rated horses.
And, as you can see from the Trainerform selection below, we are guessing a good deal about how forward most of the stables are.
Not ideal.
The form horse at the weights, but only just, is My Mate Alfie, having his first start for David O’Meara, having been bought out of Ger Lyons’ stable for 250,000 guineas in October.
You can certainly see the case for him, and indeed all of the horses at the top of the market – though he was as big as 12s in a place on Monday and is now just 6s, which won’t last the morning – but Super Soldier, another Karl Burke entry alongside Spycatcher, interested me most at the five-day stage at 20s.
I had no idea if he was an intended runner then but he is here and is now a bigger price at 22s with nine firms, and 25s with two.
He is actually available at 22s, four places, with one.
IF you can access the price, which is always something to reference these days. There is also some 20s, four places, too.
Anyway, 25s, 22s and 20s is fine and, as the only 3yo in the field (I appreciate the last 3yo to win this race was in 2002, though I couldn’t be arsed to look how many of the Classic generation have tried and failed since – I have since been told it is 0-14 though nine of those were at least 25-1), he gets a colossal amount of weight all round here, 18lb from the penalised horses, and 13lb from the rest.
That’s a fair old chunk for a talented youngster, 102-rated, proven on the ground, and thought best with dig. It is currently good to soft at Doncaster, with a bit more rain to come (see current forecast below).
As I said in my ante-post piece, Burke didn’t mention the horse in an ATR stable tour on March 17 (and it was a pretty lengthy one, too) but that doesn’t bother me and the fact that the trainer has been in good form in February and March is a fair positive.
The horse was only just touched off in a French Group 2 last season, unfortunate not to win, and he ended the season with a good fourth in a strong 6f conditions race at Ascot in October, staying on strongly at the line. That Ascot run could have been a career-best, in fact.
Hopefully, there is a lot more to come from him this season and the 22s and 20s looks big enough to tempt me in for a few quid.
Maybe this race will be too hot for him against some talented, experienced older horses – he was hardly a model of consistency as a 2yo as well, and we clearly don’t know how he has progressed from two to three or how straight he is – but the price is a fair risk to reward, for very modest stakes.
He is currently a few points bigger win-only and I’d recommend backing him very small , on the nose myself, given the doubts and the opposition.
Finally though, he is drawn in and around the expected pace (see the maps below), which is further good news.
He says, possibly clutching at straws….the horse is now available at 28s.
SATURDAY MORNING BETTING UPDATE (7.17am): Spycatcher is currently the strongest at 7/2. My Mate Alfie is into 9/2, but he is currently 6s in an illiquid exchange market.
All nine stood their ground at the overnight stage, so this remains one tricky handicap to solve, though it is no surprise to see the 4yos Belgravian and Anniversary vying for favouritism with Blindedbythelights.
I probably won’t be having a bet in this race but Align The Stars looks okay at 14s, for all his 2m stamina is yet to be fully proven.
His three, weak-finishing efforts over 2m to date have been underwhelming but I suppose his seventh in the Ascot Stakes over 2m4f last season, beaten only 2 ¾ lengths, suggests I may be concerned over nothing. That was a steadily-run race though.
It was disappointing he couldn’t win after an excellent seasonal reappearance ¾ length third to Al Qareem in a Nottingham Listed race last April and he generally proved frustratingly inconsistent thereafter.
But he put up a couple of good efforts in the mixed bag of results that makes him of interest here off a mark of 92 (he won off 99 in August 2024 and hit a peak of 102 afterwards) and Charlie Johnston has had a couple of recent winners and a fair few placed horses, albeit from a fair few darts, as per usual for this numbers outfit.
I relented and had a small bet at 12s, as I couldn’t access the 14s.
This race has done £6,488 on Betfair as at 7.41am – that’s £3,244 backed.
SATURDAY MORNING BETTING UPDATE (7.30am): Align The Stars is into 8s from 14s. Belgravian is 3s favourite, with Blindedbythelights the weakest of the front three.
This is low-level punting stuff again (it is the time of year to definitely rein it in on the stakes front with form and fitness unknowns) but Principality appealed as the best bet in this race at 16s (in three places) when I had my first good look at the race on Thursday night.
And that price is still there now as this goes live on Friday morning. Each-way terms are six places with all of those firms, too.
I’ve had a modest bet on those terms.
You can obviously make a case for most of these in this Lincoln consolation race but Principality is on the same mark as when winning at Glorious Goodwood and when running a lot better than it first appears when fifth at Newmarket on his latest start in November.
It won’t be anywhere near as deep as when he won in heavy ground at Goodwood (rain is about in Doncaster this morning though, see below) but he doesn’t have the profile of a one-dimensional slop merchant – he has plenty of form on good and one fair run on good to firm – and that Newmarket fifth indicates he can continue to be highly competitive off this mark.
Sure, he was beaten 7 lengths there but the winner Linwood (who was in the Doncaster Mile at the five-day stage) hosed in by 5 ½ lengths and is now 10lb higher, and Principality won his race down the centre of the track by 5 lengths. The first four home came down the near side.
Harry Eustace had a double on Wednesday, and the case is there to be made for Principality. Hopefully, I have made a half-decent fist of it.
He also ran well enough here when fifth to Treble Tee (who does run in the Doncaster Mile) in September, so the course form is kind of ticked, and his midfield draw hopefully means that Kaiya Fraser can negate any track or pace bias that exists/unfolds.
There has been some early interest in High On Hope into 20s, and that price may come under pressure shortly.
SATURDAY MORNING BETTING UPDATE (7.20am): The Betfair market has done a mere 17k but it is 9.6 the field there, and 7s on the fixed-odds front. It would have taken buttons so far but Principality is into 10s and High On Hope 14s. Carron is 10s fixed-odds but twice that on the exchange.
This is another race which I will probably sit out, but Johnston has another fair shot at a victory with Marhaba Ghaiyyath (he broke my heart when bumping into a thrown-in King’s Charter at Newmarket in July) and the lightly-raced El Burhan may still have plenty of handicap upside in him after just eight starts.
It is clearly a deep, competitive race but those were the two that appealed most.
The [11/2] chance El Burhan went up 6lb for a clear-cut win at Ayr on his most recent start but his trainer said he could become better than a handicapper after that victory and he gets the chance to show that off a mark of 100 here.
But being drawn 11 of 13 is hardly ideal in a handicap just one shy of the maximum around here.
I’ll pass.
SATURDAY MORNING BETTING UPDATE (7.33am): Respond is 3s fav but expect 5s chance El Burhan to drift, as he is 7s+ win-only on the exchange(albeit this race has done a pitiful £7,268 – liquidity really is shocking). Marhaba Ghaiyyath is the strongest outside of the favourite at 11/2, and that could go shortly.
It took a long while in the confirmation process on Thursday morning for others to join Docklands in this race – the Queen Anne winner was confirmed very early on – and in the end only four took up the offer in this 60k race.
Notable no-shows included Chancellor, Ten Bob Tony, Skukuza and other promising sorts like Linwood and Release The Storm.
So 12 became five.
I suppose the attraction of taking on unpenalised Group 1 winners in Docklands and Qirat made little appeal in this grade of race, but both of those are hardly copper-bottomed. They are [7/4] and 4s respectively.
Qirat is no one-hit wonder, having good enough efforts in defeat in Group 1 and 2 company to go alongside that Sussex Stakes shock, but his overall level of form and a mark of 114 doesn’t make him scary here.
The 118-rated Docklands was initially going to go to Dubai before then venturing on to Hong Kong at the end of April, which suggests he will be straight enough here (perhaps), but obviously all his best form is at Ascot and he may not have his ideal pace set-up in this small field for Jamie Spencer.
Volterra looks likely to go on and Kevin Ryan’s recent runners have gone well without winning, for all there have been just a handful.
He smashed up Qirat by 3 ¼ lengths at Ascot in October 2024 (the runner-up was giving him 3lb) and he won first time up that year before finishing a good third to Ten Bob Tony on his seasonal return at Haydock last season.
The 1m trip is an obvious doubt though – he is best over 7f, to date – as well as the class of opposition and he is easy to pass up at 5s.
Excellent Believe, who was a big improver throughout last season, has been backed from 8s to 5s in the early skirmishes. And now into [9/2] best.
Not even 14k had been traded on this race as at 7.45am.
SATURDAY MORNING BETTING UPDATE (7.24am): Not a great deal has changed aside from the three outsiders all being clipped in slightly into 9/2 and 5s.
Survie and Cathedral sit astride this field from a form perspective, but I’d be against the former on two counts.
One – her price of [6/4].
Two – the 1m trip. She has won over it , but that was as a 2yo, and all her best form has come over 1m2f and 1m4f.
I actually don’t think Cathedral is a bad each-way bet at 3s.
In fact, it looks a very good one.
With one proviso.
She ran exceptionally well over 1m3f in the Filly and Mare Turf at Del Mar in November and her 1m Group 1 form, which includes a 1 ¾ length fourth in the Matron Stakes in September, actually could mark her down as the one to beat here (she is officially 1lb superior to Survie).
She has a good record when fresh too, and her stable’s few runners have all gone well enough in defeat.
One firm are a quarter the odds 1,2,3 at 3s – and no way I would lay that, for all trouble could beckon from her draw in two if she doesn’t break well.
And, to be fair, she has started tardily on a couple of occasions.
Even so, I may have to hit an ATM and visit a shop…
Owen Burrows is a great operator with his small string and his dual course and winner Glittering Surf is also a fair each-way option at 8s on her initial promise.
SATURDAY MORNING BETTING UPDATE (7.34am): Just £7,153 matched on this race at 7.34am. Survie is out to 2s and Cathedral into 5/2. Pina Sonato is into 8s from double figures.
Bopedro is a NR.
I can honestly say that I have fancied at least 10 of the final 22 since first looking at this race on Monday – you don’t need me to tell you that La Botte and Eternal Force were two of them, as the 4s joint-favourites – so I have compromised and focused on an outsider to minimal stakes.
And I mean minimal.
Step forward La Trinidad each-way at 66s.
There are five and six places knocking about here (ante-post punters were asked to accept just four at the start of the week, further highlighting just how poor that betting medium has become), so pick your battles as best as your accounts allow (two firms are 66s, six places, fwiw).
As far as sexiness goes, he is more Rene from Allo Allo than Rene Russo in The Thomas Crown Affair re-make with Pierce Brosnan – you really couldn’t get a profile as different as his and La Botte’s – but he has definite place potential.
This is the earliest we have ever seen the 9yo (bar a rogue run on January 3, 2020) and hopefully that means Roger Fell has got the horse in earlier than usual with this meeting/race in mind.
Certainly, the ground-versatile horse loves it here, with course form figures of 1413, and that third came in a very strong handicap in 2023 off a 3lb higher mark than this.
And one of those victories was a 4 ¾ length win off just a 5lb lower mark than this.
He was pretty consistent last season, finishing a ¾ length third off a 6lb higher than this on his campaign reappearance in the Thirsk Hunt Cup, and I can see him outrunning his odds and hopefully hitting the first five of six. Roger Fell hasn’t had a winner in yonks but a few of his have been going well at prices recently.
Like I said though, this really is fiver and tenner stuff.
There are some cracking first-time headgear stats on this race (see below).
Brian Toomey is three from six with initial blinkers and his [50/1] chance Metal Merchant is handicapped to run a big race on his 2024 form on his opening start for him.
The 16s poke Valvano was one of my shortlist of 10, and Ralph Beckett has banged in all sorts of big-priced winners (from a large sample, admittedly) when applying blinkers. That 16s may not last.
And do check out the Trainerform, too.
Certainly, Michael Bell is in the kind of nick that wouldn’t deter you from looking at [25/1] poke Greek Order, who is another to be wearing first-time headgear.
SATURDAY MORNING BETTING UPDATE (7.27am): Nothing looks to have changed much overnight. Valvano is 11s from 16s fixed-odds but has drifted back out on the exchange to 17.0. I can’t see a mover of note bar Shout, 11s best fixed-odds, who is now 16s+ win-only.
GOING – Round: Soft, good to soft in places: Straight: Good to soft, soft in places
GOING STICK: 5.6, Saturday 7.45am
Average Soil Moisture 51.5%
Rails: No additional distances
Stalls: Straight – Centre Round – Inner
Saturday morning course update: 2.4mm rain Tuesday. 2.8mm rain Friday. Saturday – unsettled through the day, sunny spells with the chance of showers – 10C Stiff westerly breeze
WEATHER (yr.no latest, 6.50am Saturday): Dry and largely sunny, maybe odd shower
GOING: Standard to slow
Stalls: All: Inside
2.25pm Doncaster: Flying Fletcher
3.35pm Doncaster: Sterling Knight, Far From Dandy, First Ambition, Principality, Harvey, Cadarn, Perfect Part, Thunder Wonder, Cogitate, Carron, Sir Paul Ramsey, Desperate Dan, Knights Gold, Vincent Rocks, Intrusively, Classic Encounter, Mezcala, Empirestateofmind, Naples, Rainbow Nebula, Epictetus, Good Morning Alex, Degale, Lir Speciale, Indian Spirit, Milteye, Prosperitas, High On Hope, White Crown Star, Nyman, Pressure’s On, Empire Of Light, On The River, Le Sid, Zowal, Uniting, Tolstoy, Flying Fletcher, Havana Prince, Tonal
Ollie Sangster cheekpieces; Glistening, 3.13pm Kempton; 4-34 (12% -£17.50 at SP) – he has one running in first time cheekpieces on Friday at Lingfield, Marra Donna, 2.42pm (was beaten a short-head)
Michael Bell visor; Greek Order, 3.32pm Doncaster ; 27-244 (11%, -£52.84 at SP)
Brian Toomey blinkers; Metal Merchant, 3.32pm Doncaster; 3-6 (50%, +£18.38 at SP)
Ralph Beckett blinkers; Valvano, 3.32pm Doncaster; 42-332 (13%, +£14.85 at SP) – stable have had 12 first-time blinkers winners at 10-1 plus, biggest was 25-1
Brian Ellison hood (first time the horse running in the headgear for him); Saint Etienne hood. 2.42pm Kempton
Ran in a hood in France once……Ellison with first time hoods is 1-48 (2%, -£46.38 at SP) – as an extra note horses that ran on debut for the yard in a first-time hood (for the yard) are 0-5.
1.20pm Doncaster: Brocklesby
1.50pm Doncaster : Art Power (drawn 7), James’s Delight (prom – 12), Myal (9)
2.08pm Kempton : Lavender Hill Mob (5), Align The Stars (2), Blindedbythelights (7), Anniversary (1)
2.25pm Doncaster : Cadarn (6), Vincent Rocks (21), Mezcala (3), Empirestateofmind (16), Milteye (22), Zowal (prom – 4)?
2.42pm Kempton: Military Academy (5), King’s Code (prom – 4), Gamrai (2), Night Breeze? (9)
2.57pm Doncaster : Excellent Believe (prom – 1), Qirat? (4), Volterra (3)
3.13pm Kempton : All Moonshine (12), American Gal? (10), Glistening? (7), Radiant Beauty (prom – 6) , Sweet Princess (1)
3.32pm Doncaster: Botanical (3), Urban Lion (2), Tarkhan (12), Eternal Force? (6), Valvano (16)
Good: James Owen (13-2 winner on Friday), Andrew Balding (going well – another winner on Friday), Jack Channon (small sample, and a 2-5 winner on Thursday), Hugo Palmer, James Fanshawe (winner on Thursday), Kevin Philippart De Foy (small sample; no winners), Kevin Ryan (no winners and few runners, but they have been going okay), Karl Burke, David O’Meara (6-1 winner on Thursday), Jamie Osborne, Michael Bell (small sample but five of his last six runners have won after a double at Chelmsford on Thursday night), John and Sean Quinn (small sample), Harry Eustace (four runners; last two have won at 8-1 and 3-1)
Fair: George Boughey, Charlie Johnston, Ian Williams, David Evans, Brian Ellison, Mick Appleby (10-11 winner on Thursday), Tim Easterby, Richard Hannon (winner on Friday), James Tate, Simon and Ed Crisford (winner on Wednesday), Tony Coyle and Kaine Wood (20-1 winner on Friday night), Charlie Appleby (fair/moderate), Gary and Josh Moore (18-1 and 16-1 winners on Wednesday, so heading towards good), Roger Fell (no winners), Newland and Insole, Robson De Aguiar (4-9 winner on Friday), Adrian Keatley (winner on Thursday), Ollie Sangster (winner on Thursday)
Moderate?: Dylan Cunha (6-1 winner on Thursday though, so perhaps no trainer is in moderate form – that’d be a first)
Don’t know (small samples): Sir Mark Prescott, Ralph Beckett, Jane Chapple-Hyam, Keiran Burke, John and Thady Gosden, Ed Walker (one 11-8 winner), Eve Johnson Houghton, Owen Burrows, Charles Hills, Clive Cox (one winner), William Haggas (two winners; three runners), Steph Hollinshead, Ed Dunlop, Dominic Ffrench Davis, Tony Martin, David Menuisier, Brian Toomey, Stephen Thorne, Peter Chapple-Hyam, Richard and Peter Fahey, David and Nicola Barron, Harriet Bethell, TJ Kent, Grant Tuer (one winner), Adam Kirby, Stephen Hanlon, Lemos De Souza, Kathy Turner (two runners; one winner)
On this weeks’ Racing Room pod: Intro: No Ronan, Riding & More Late Goals (0-5mins)…
2.20pm York – 14/1 Fire could possess the cutting Blade Fireblade is certainly not…
Horse Racing
Greyhounds
Darts
Football
Home