Overview
Royal Infantry has won two of its three starts over the past 90 days and placed in all of them, and on Sunday it lines up in the Weir’s Iga Donald (Bm66) with Ryan Houston aboard and the rail draw. That is the horse this card hangs on. In a seven-runner middle-distance handicap, a horse in that sort of form from gate 1 takes plenty of beating.
The other story is a rider. L J Meech has won six of her 13 rides at Donald, and she is booked for seven races here, including Boulderoo for Andrew Bobbin, a combination that is three from three at this track. That partnership sets up the best clash of the day in Race 2. Add the Bet365 Donald Cup at 4:25PM, where Somewhere has placed in every recent run without winning, and there is plenty to get stuck into.
Eight races, the track rated Good, first jump at 1:25PM and the last at 5:45PM. These Donald racing tips go through every race, then boil it down to five plays. Only Race 1 had live bookmaker prices when this was written, so odds appear where a market is open and nowhere else.
Reading the Donald card
Limited course form across today’s fields. Only five runners have raced here before, and none more than twice, so the horses give us almost nothing to work with. Boulderoo is the one worth a note: a win and a second from its two Donald starts. Jet Jitsu won on its only visit. The riders and stables carry the real Donald evidence.
Jockeys at Donald (5+ rides)
| Jockey | Runs | Wins | Places | Win% | Place% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| L J Meech | 13 | 6 | 8 | 46% | 62% |
| D Yendall | 11 | 3 | 6 | 27% | 55% |
| John Allen | 8 | 2 | 4 | 25% | 50% |
| Cian Macredmond | 20 | 3 | 8 | 15% | 40% |
| Tom Madden | 22 | 2 | 8 | 9% | 36% |
| E J Walsh | 14 | 1 | 5 | 7% | 36% |
| Jack Hill | 25 | 4 | 8 | 16% | 32% |
Trainers at Donald (5+ runners)
| Trainer | Runs | Wins | Places | Win% | Place% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T & C Mcevoy | 6 | 4 | 5 | 67% | 83% |
| Ben, Will & JD Hayes | 7 | 0 | 5 | 0% | 71% |
| Patrick Payne | 13 | 2 | 9 | 15% | 69% |
| C Maher | 7 | 1 | 4 | 14% | 57% |
| Jamie Edwards | 9 | 3 | 5 | 33% | 56% |
| Andrew Bobbin | 16 | 4 | 5 | 25% | 31% |
Meech is the standout. Nearly half her Donald rides have won, which is a remarkable rate for a jockey with a double-figure sample. D Yendall places more than half the time from 11 rides. Among the stables, T & C Mcevoy have only one runner, Catwalk Icon in the last, but four winners from six starters here is hard to ignore. The Hayes team keeps running placings without a winner, and Patrick Payne gets seven in ten of his runners into the first three.
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Donald racing tips: race by race
Race 1: Spirit Of Donald Mdn Plate, 1:25PM, 1350m
The market has made up its mind early. Thankful Smile is the $3.50 favourite with Unibet for Ben, Will and JD Hayes, with H Coffey riding, and its form line of 5-42 says it has been getting closer each time. That is a fair price for a maiden on the improve, but it is short enough that I want an alternative.
Lady Of Lubeck is that alternative at $7.50 with Bet Right. Simon Zahra has brought three runners to Donald and every one of them has placed, and she carries 126.7lb against the 131.1lb most of this field has to lug, a useful weight drop in a maiden. Interrogate is the other one to respect at $5.00 with Bet Right; it ran second in one of its two recent starts and D Yendall rides Donald well.
Small win bet on Lady Of Lubeck at the price, with Thankful Smile the danger.
Race 2: Weir’s Iga Donald (Bm66), 2:00PM, 1350m
Seven runners, and two of them are in a different league on current form. Royal Infantry has won two of its three runs in the past 90 days, placed in the other and banked $31,950 doing it. It jumps from barrier 1 with Ryan Houston, which means it can hold the fence and never be more than a length off the speed.
Boulderoo is the problem. It is one of the few runners on the card with Donald form, a win and a second from two starts, and it reunites with L J Meech for Andrew Bobbin. That pair has won all three times they have teamed up here. Boulderoo also carries the least weight in the race. Its recent run of form is patchier, though: one win from three starts in the same 90-day window, with a sixth last time.
Paparazzo is the third leg. Two wins from five recent runs, and its last start was a win, but it carries top weight.
I side with the horse in the better form. Royal Infantry to win, and box it with Boulderoo in the quinella.
Race 3: Goodwin Village Donald Mdn Plate, 2:35PM, 2200m
Does a horse that keeps finishing in the first three eventually win one? Ashina has placed in all three of its starts over the past 90 days, and its form line reads 444322, so it has been inching closer all season. Out to 2200m with Dylan Dunn for T Busuttin and N Young, it looks the one with the most reliable profile in a weak staying maiden.
The worry is that reliable and winning are different things. Ateyate has run third at its last two starts for Stephen Theodore and D Yendall rides, and the lightly raced types like Lord Timo and Efreeti could improve sharply over the trip. Nobody in the field has a recent win to point to.
No market yet. Each-way on Ashina, because the place part looks about as safe as anything on the card.
Race 4: Mallee Landscapes (Bm66), 3:10PM, 2200m
Julep comes here in the best form of anyone at a staying trip. Its last two runs were wins, and over the past 90 days it has won two of six and placed in four, earning $36,360. Taige Weir‘s runner gets a light weight and D Yendall, who places in more than half his Donald rides.
The setup suits it too. Nine runners over 2200m rarely produce a frantic tempo, and a horse that has been winning races and carrying form forward should be able to sit handy and kick. Mickio is the danger: it won two starts back and has a win and two placings from four recent runs for M J Enright, with John Allen riding. Kilna has placed in one of two recent starts and drops in from barrier 8.
Julep is the safest win of the afternoon for multis. Win bet.
Race 5: Leading Teams Mdn Plate, 3:45PM, 1350m
A three-year-old maiden with three scratchings and plenty of unknowns. Pinazaki has the most experience and the best of it, with three placings from four starts over the past 90 days and a fourth at its only Donald visit. P G Moody and Katherine Coleman have left it as their only runner after the scratchings, and Ryan Houston rides.
Flare Of Grace ran third at its only start for the Hayes stable with H Coffey, a stable that places nearly three in four runners at this track. Bubble Art finished fourth at its only start and has L J Meech on for S and J Jaensch. Either could improve past Pinazaki.
Hard to be confident. Pinazaki on its consistency, but this is a small-stakes race at best.
Race 6: Bet365 Donald Cup, 4:25PM, 1620m
The Cup sets up as a race for the horse that turns up every time. Somewhere has placed in all three of its runs over the past 90 days and earned $28,400 doing it. Its form line of 324334 tells the story: always there, rarely winning. Archie Alexander‘s runner gets a light weight, and H Coffey has a win and three placings from four Donald rides.
What could beat it? Quietness is the class runner, with top weight and L J Meech in the saddle, but its recent form reads 6440 since a second and it has not raced in the past 90 days. Fox Appeal is the more obvious threat. Three placings from five recent starts, barrier 1, and Justin W Stanley riding for Craig Weeding. Like Somewhere, it has been finding one or two too good.
If Fox Appeal and Scalextrics use their inside gates and roll forward, Somewhere should have a target to chase from midfield. Van Roy has a win in its form line but finished 13th at its only run in the past 90 days, and Grecian Destiny has not placed since its last win.
With nine going around after two scratchings, place betting is honest value here. Each-way on Somewhere, with Fox Appeal in the exotics.
Race 7: Chs Broadbent (Bm66), 5:05PM, 1620m
Patrick Payne gets seven in ten of his Donald runners into the first three, and he brings Town Planner here off a win at its only start. That makes this lightly raced three-year-old the most interesting runner in a big field, carrying 125.6lb from barrier 1 with Jack Martin.
The older brigade sets the standard. Switch Hit has been in the first three at five of its seven runs over the past 90 days, including a win, and Alternate won its latest start. Jet Jitsu won on its only Donald visit but has not placed in its one run over the past 90 days.
Town Planner is the one with the upside. Small win bet, saver on Switch Hit for the place.
Race 8: Gilchrist & Co (Bm66), 5:45PM, 1200m
Here is where the market will probably get it wrong. Catwalk Icon runs for T & C Mcevoy, who have won with four of their six runners at Donald, and H Coffey has ridden for the stable 113 times. Its form line of 112053 shows two wins further back, and a third last start suggests it is coming back to form.
Bazzar is the horse to beat on paper. It won its only run in the past 90 days for Tom Dabernig and John Allen, and its last start was a win, but it carries the most weight. Racey Casey has a win and two placings from six recent runs for Jamie Edwards, who wins with a third of his Donald runners.
Bazzar to win, Catwalk Icon the danger and the stable angle. Win on Bazzar, small saver on Catwalk Icon.
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Where the money goes
NAP: Royal Infantry (Race 2, 2:00PM). Two wins and a placing from three recent starts, and the rail draw in a seven-horse field means it gets the run of the race.
Value: Lady Of Lubeck (Race 1, 1:25PM). $7.50 with Bet Right for a stable that has placed with all three of its Donald runners, with a weight pull on most of the field.
Banker: Julep (Race 4, 3:10PM). Back-to-back wins and a light weight over a trip that should play to its strengths.
Each-way: Somewhere (Race 6, 4:25PM). Three placings from three recent runs in the Cup. It may not win, but it rarely misses the frame.
Course angle: L J Meech. Six winners from 13 Donald rides, and three from three with Andrew Bobbin. Boulderoo in Race 2 is the obvious one, but she has seven rides on the card.
If Meech keeps landing winners at this rate, Donald bookmakers will soon be shading every horse she rides.
Donald racing FAQ
What time does racing start at Donald today?
Race 1, the Spirit Of Donald Mdn Plate over 1350m, jumps at 1:25PM. The eight-race card ends with the Gilchrist & Co (Bm66) at 5:45PM, and the Bet365 Donald Cup goes at 4:25PM.
Who are the top jockeys and trainers at Donald?
L J Meech leads the jockeys with six wins from 13 rides here, and D Yendall has placed in six of 11. Among trainers, T & C Mcevoy have won with four of six Donald runners, and Patrick Payne places nine of every 13.
What are the best bets at Donald today?
Royal Infantry in Race 2 is the NAP after two wins from its last three starts, with Julep in Race 4 the banker off back-to-back wins. Somewhere is the each-way play in the Donald Cup.
Where can I find the best odds for Donald races?
Only Race 1 was priced when this was written, with Thankful Smile at $3.50 with Unibet and Lady Of Lubeck at $7.50 with Bet Right. Check the racecard links above for live best prices as the other markets open.
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