The Kris Lees-trained Le Romain is the clear pre-field favourite in 2017 Doncaster Mile betting for the lucrative feature on Day 1 of ‘The Championships’ in Sydney this weekend.
Le Romain is pre-field favourite to take out the Doncaster Mile Handicap 2017 this Saturday at Randwick. Photo: Steve Hart.
One of four elite level races scheduled for Royal Randwick Racecourse on Saturday, the $3 million Group 1 The Star Doncaster Mile (1600m) field is announced on Tuesday.
Of the current entries in the mix for the handicap classic favourite in all-in Doncaster Mile odds online at Ladbrokes.com.au is in-form four-year-old Le Romain ($6.50)
Newcastle horseman Lees chases his first Doncaster Mile win and looks to be saddling-up a massive hope with his son of Hard Spun Le Romain.
Winner of the Group 1 Canterbury Stakes (1300m) in the mud at Randwick on March 4, Le Romain was far from disgraced when second best behind runaway champion Winx in the Group 1 George Ryder Stakes (1500m) at Rosehill last time out.
That Golden Slipper Stakes Day lead-up has produced the past three Doncaster Mile winners including the aforementioned superstar Winx (2016) who completed the double last autumn.
Winx is out-weighted from Doncaster Mile contention this year and instead races next-up on April 8 chasing her seventeenth consecutive win in the $4 million Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m).
Le Romain meanwhile will be out to frank the George Ryder Stakes form in the Doncaster Mile field this weekend and will relish coming back from 59kg at weight-for-age to 55.5kg on Saturday.
Second favourite in the futures Doncaster Mile markets at $8 is a stablemate of Winx, McCreery who looks trainer Chris Waller’s best chance of securing his seventh win in the feature.
Waller has also saddled-up the past four straight Doncaster Mile winners and McCreery will tackle the race third-up on the weekend carrying 52kg.
That includes a one kilogram penalty the Big Bad Bob gelding attracted for his Group 3 Liverpool City Cup (1300m) win back in late February.
The five-year-old is also a George Ryder Stakes graduate having run fifth and also placed second to Le Romain at Flemington last spring in the Group 1 Cantala Stakes (1600m).
The other current single-figure fancies in Doncaster Mile betting are the John O’Shea-trained Hauraki ($9) coming off a George Ryder Stakes fourth and Lindsay Park’s star import Redkirk Warrior ($9).
Reset five-year-old Hauraki looks set to peak third-up getting back out over a mile and won the Group 1 Epsom Handicap (1600m) over the Doncaster Mile track and distance last October carrying the same 56kg he is allocated this weekend.
Redkirk Warrior was super impressive last start scoring a dominant upset win in the Group 1 Newmarket Handicap (1200m) at Flemington.
The former Hong Kong-trained six-year-old has now won five of his ten career starts and has been set for the Doncaster Mile up over 1600m second-up by the stable.
Other notable Doncaster Mile entries and their current price for the win include last weekend’s Doncaster Prelude winner Spectroscope ($11) and the William Reid Stakes winning filly I Am A Star ($15).
Doncaster Mile 2017 final acceptances close at 8am (AEDT) on Tuesday.
In the meantime check out the markets on your early selections below provided by Ladbrokes.com.au – home of Odds Boost (T&Cs apply).
