SIMON NOTT BETTING BLOG: Doncaster St Leger Day

Doncaster is a different beast on St Leger day, there’s some buzz about the place for their big meeting of the year, writes SIMON NOTT.

Ladies and Gents of all ages in their Sunday best, full betting ring pitches and fantastic racing out on the turf. Two years ago today, I was having a heart bypass about the time I’m writing this, today I’m working with Jed, Mandy and Nick at one of the year’s biggest meetings and counting my blessings.

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1:15 – PJ Towey Construction Handicap (Class 2) (3yo+) 1m (Str)

Betting on the first was a busy but maybe not as busy as you’d expect, given the size of the crowd. The bet of the race was £2250 – £1000 Treble Tee from a well-respected Northern professional punter. He told me he’d been backing the horse all morning, so would like it to win. He didn’t have much to worry about the gelding bolted up. The book which had held £2520 blew £3082 over the 11/5 winner.

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1:50 – Betfred Champagne Stakes (Group 2) (Colts & Geldings) (Class 1) (2yo) 7f (7f6y)

I had been asked to take part in a Fan Cave preview prior to racing. I was to be wingman for Stephen Darbyshire going through the card, it had to be cancelled pre-racing due to a technical hitch, but we managed to do it between the first and second. I’d got the movers from Star Sports and some marks from shrewdies. When I went into the venue it was a beautiful late summer day, when I emerged it was Armageddon, rain and wind had howled in with people, I’m told southerners, running for cover.

Down on the rail, the Star Sports pitch manned by northerners they were grafting they’d laid Gewan £1000 at 11/8, £1400 Oxagon at 6/4 then a late flurry for Gewan at 6/5, including £5000 and smaller but decent lumps in the mush blowing chaos which meant that at the off, he was losing £11,948 from a £14,660 book. There was such a befuddle in the rain and the wind that nobody on the team really saw 15/2 chance Puerto Rico win and cop the firm over £12,000, by this point it wasn’t just the Southerners running for cover. Everyone was getting drenched.

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2:25 – Betfred Portland (Heritage Handicap) (Class 2) (3yo+) 5½f (5f143y)

Next up, the big handicap where it was still tipping down, but hopefully easing, after all, we’re all optimists on the racecourse, aren’t we? The betting was headed by Addison Grey and Air Force One at 9/2. Punters were still braving the rain but it was certainly stifling business, as was the chap who lost his £2.50 each-way ticket. It was some testament to the resilience of the Doncaster punters that as the horses were going to the post the field money had reached over a grand, all in small bets. Then, as suddenly as the rain and wind had descended the sun came out, hopefully banishing the precipitation for the day.

Those that had been hiding from the elements soon emerged blinking into the light and normal business was resumed. Nick and team were tapping away furiously but he had time to comment on the strong support for Addison Grey which had been backed into 7/2 favourite. The field money had passed £2000, reaching £2062 by the off. We all love a topical winner don’t we, Eternal Sunshine winning at 12/1 certainly brightened the bookmakers, probably because she wasn’t topical soon enough to dent their book. Some fancied horses being place ensured there was no skinner but Star’s cop of £879 was a nice addition to the tally for the day.

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3:00 – Betfred Park Stakes (Group 2) (Class 1) (3yo+) 7f

Shadow of Light opened 6/4 to win the next, the sort of price there might be another squadron of lumps flying about for. While the team worked hard fielding money I struggled to get my words of wisdom out to the Star Sports editor who puts the blogs that I type from the pitch together. Racecourses really do need to recognise that decent WiFi is an essential provision to pretty much everyone in 2025, and they really should ensure they provide one that can handle busy days like today. Talking of which, as the horses went to post the book held over £3500 with the biggest bet £1100 – £800 over the jolly Shadow Of Light, flanked by a couple of bottles the same horse, the rest of that total was just small business. At the off the book held £3634 with the jolly losing £2077.

It was apparent a fair way out that Shadow Of Light wouldn’t be winning today, he was barely at the races at all, something pointed out by Nick in rather more flowery language. Marvelman had been give a positive mention by previous #BettingPeople interviewee Andrew Lowrie to his Optimum Racing clients, so rewarded anyone who took the hint by powering home under Oisin Murphy returning 13/2. Judging by the cop in the book, £2712, not many punters betting on course could see past the jolly so did their (soggy) dough.

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3:40 – Betfred St Leger Stakes (Group 1) (No Geldings) (Class 1) (3yo) 1m6½f (1m6f115y)

Next up, the big one and the first bet in the book was £3500 – £500 Stay True, that was laid but the franticly called hedge bet of £7000 – £1000 yelled in from behind the joint shortly after wasn’t. The feature of the morning market with Star Sports had been the weakness of market leader Scandinavia, he was a solid 2/1 chance on course, but the bigger punters certainly weren’t interested. They weren’t interested at 9/4 when the field were at the post either, with over £3600 in the hod, the losers at the off were Stay True for £3654 and Lambourn £615 in the win book. Sometimes the market just doesn’t know, despite being friendless at a painted 9/4 at the off Scandinavia did the business, scrambling home in a driving finish. He won £1284 in the book, which was a right result, off course, they returned the winner 2/1 favourite, yes I know, how?

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4:15 – Coopers Marquees EBF Maiden Fillies’ Stakes (GBB Race) (Class 2) (2yo) 1m

Nick told me a funny story between races, he said that on his way in, he complimented the gate attendant on his BetFred St Leger tie. The guy touched it fondly then replied that he did too, but they had to return them at the end of the day, evidently no matter how big the firm, the exes matter. The penultimate race on the thoroughbred card, the richest race on it, concluding the day’s action being the Arabian Derby, was a maiden. The favourite was Del Maro, who was 11/8 when the book opened and the subject of an almost immediate £1100 – £800 hedge bet. That bet happened while I was navigating the coffee outlet for staff welfare. The guy who couldn’t understand my accent yesterday was dealing with sausage roll replenishment, so I was served by someone fluent in southern.

I was still gone long enough for the jolly to be a wrist chance on my return, and ‘on the thumb’ at that. At the off he was a 6/5 chance losing £1441 in the win book with £3151 in the hod. Well, the bookmakers were treated to a good old fashioned result 28/1 chance Pathein beat 5/1 shot Lyneham with the even money jolly back in third. When I say the winner was 28/1, that was the SP, Star Sports on course were only 22/1 at the off. That may have accounted for the virtual skinning cop of £2974 on the race. Going into the last, the book was up £16,294, which should have been quite a buffer to the third winning day of the meeting. Andy next door appeared to be celebrating as he walked along the rail dishing out very nice sweets to the grateful bookmakers, even Spinning Mick was smiling, or at least that’s how it looked from where I was stood.

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4:50 – Mastiff Manor Handicap (GBBPlus Race) (Class 2) (3yo+ 0-105) 1m2f (1m2f43y)

The lucky last boasted 3/1 joint favourites in Botanical and Sovereign Sea and appeared to have some buzz about it with punters still keen to get stuck in, though if the majority of them knew the ‘last’ in the racecard was a different code or not was debatable.

Sadly, the anticipated punter deluge didn’t happen quite that way. ‘After the Lord Mayor’s Show’ was Nick’s summing up after telling me that as the horses went to post the book held £1444. Still, there appeared very little chance of knocking it all out on the day so not the end of the world should it not pick up. It did though, as the horses were loading a punter bet £250 each-way at 11/4 Botanical which was a late mover on course and the machine but still only losing a round of drinks in the book. When you have an accountant’s bet it must be a bit gutting when you’re unplaced. No gloating at Botanical’s poor run, but 9/1 winner Fantasy Believer was an excellent result copping £1125 on the race concluding the day. At least that’s what I thought, but Nick decided to bet on the concluding Arab Derby, so head down into race eight for the third day in a row we went.

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5:23 – UAE President Cup (UK Arabian Derby) (Arab Group 1) (4YO only) 1m2f (1m2f43y)

As I was walking into the course this morning, a local punter said that the summer ends with the last tail passing the post in the St Leger, I was hoping we could stretch to the next 24 hours, but the forecast for tomorrow is looking horrific – let’s hope they’re wrong. The jolly for the last race, worth £400,000, was Lippo De Carrere a tentative 6/4 chance in a market most bookies would have known little about, most appeared to be staying, though FOMO was rife in the betting ring. To be fair though, as alluded to earlier, it appeared the punters in front of the joints, and there were plenty of them, just thought of this as another race, so fair play. The general concensus, endorsed by absent but much-loved Lofty was that the rags couldn’t win, so liberties could be taken laying them. A punter who asked for a tenner on every horse in the race with Jed, Mandy and Nick was certainly hoping today’s race would be an exception to that rule, as the jolly was now a 5/4 chance.

Nick and no doubt the other bookies were justified in staying on to bet on the race. Shaihaan attracted a bet of £2750 – £500 bookies hedging money, which brought the field money to almost £1500 by post time as an ominous cloud loomed and not a horse was loaded. Then the bookie came back and cancelled the bet as the punter’s card declined, that was a shame as it sounds as if a well-heeled punter was having a guess up, well not that well-heeled as the card declined, but you know what I mean. There didn’t appear to be much urgency to get the field loaded, the punters dwindled away, and that cloud got darker. As they eventually got away, the book held £1006 and had only three winners in it. It was actually quite an exciting race, which went to the favourite returned 13/8, bigger than on course and a £282 winner in the book, which made it worth hanging about for. ‘Lino went through the floor’, beamed a buoyant Nick – ‘Boom Boom’ after reporting the book copped £18,330.50 on the day, and on that note, we’re back tomorrow.

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Views of authors do not necessarily represent views of Star Sports Bookmakers.

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Simon Nott is author of: Skint Mob! Tales from the Betting Ring
available on Kindle CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILS

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