Another wet Sydney track looks ideal for the flying Richard & Michael Freedman-trained mare Forbidden Love who is narrow favourite to secure her third straight Group 1 win in Saturday’s Doncaster Mile 2022 field.

Flying mare Forbidden Love is favourite to secure a third straight Group 1 win this weekend in the 2022 Doncaster Mile. Photo: Steve Hart.

A capacity field of autumn stars is gathered for this year’s Group 1 $3 million The Star Doncaster Mile (1600m), one of four elite level features set to run on a Heavy Randwick track for Day 1 of The Championships.

Drawn barrier 14, which could become 12 with emergencies out, is the current $5 favourite in Doncaster Mile betting at Ladbrokes.com.au Forbidden Love.

The bonny mare is in white-hot form coming off three straight wins this campaign, the last two seeing her secure the Group 1 Canterbury Stakes – George Ryder Stakes double at Randwick and Rosehill respectively on Heavy (9) tracks.

On Saturday Jamie Kah replaces Hugh Bowman in the saddle with Bowman booked to ride the main danger, I’m Thunderstruck, in the Doncaster Mile field.

Forbidden Love was huge in the George Ryder with 57kg and drops right back to just 50kg in the Doncaster Mile weights.

She will be airborne with that on her back, has that imposing five-from-six Heavy track record and a brilliant Randwick strike-rate (9:4-0-2).

The $2 million earner is yet to win over a mile, but is a genuine wet track specialist and hard to beat favourite looking to complete the George Ryder – Doncaster Mile double for the first time since the mighty mare Winx in 2016.

Success will also see Forbidden Love join Brutal (49.5kg in 2019) as the only Doncaster Mile winners in over 20 years to carry less than 51kg to victory.

As mentioned, the danger following closely at Doncaster Mile odds of $6 is Bowman’s mount I’m Thunderstruck set to jump from barrier eight.

The Mick Price & Michael Kent Junior-trained son of Shocking is looking to secure his first win since the $7.5 million The Golden Eagle (1500m) last October.

He has had three eye-catching runs this campaign for back-to-back fifths in the CF Orr and Futurity over 1400m at Caulfield in February before a last start second behind the champ Zaaki in Flemington’s $5 million The All-Star Mile (1600m).

The four-year-old has his first official run at Randwick in the Doncaster and presents rock-hard fit fourth-up heading north and carrying the 55.5kg second top-weight.

The other dominant player in Doncaster markets this autumn is three-year-old lightweight Converge ($8) for Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott.

Co-trainer Waterhouse holds the equal Doncaster Mile training record of seven wins with her late father Tommy Smith, her last victory being back in 2012 with More Joyous.

This weekend she chases her first in partnership with Bott and they saddle-up a livewire hope with in-form Frankel gelding Converge in gate three with just 49.5kg.

Two back he won the Group 1 Randwick Guineas (1600m) before finishing a distant second nearly seven lengths beaten by runaway winner Anamoe in the Group 1 Rosehill Guineas (2000m).

He drops back to a mile, comes back from 56.5kg that run and returns to his pet Randwick track (4:2-0-2) ticking plenty of boxes.

Rachel King comes aboard for the ride and victory will see Converge become history’s 33^rd three-year-old Doncaster Handicap winner and the first since the aforementioned Brutal (2019).

At the opposite end of the weight scale carrying the 56kg top-weight is the reigning champion, the James Cummings-trained Cascadian out wide in barrier 18.

The now seven-year-old son of New Approach ran ninth in 2020 before saluting narrowly in last year’s race with 53kg.

He returns now with more weight and was last seen finishing fifth in The All-Star Mile.

Saturday is Cascadian’s first run back in Sydney since his narrow fourth to Private Eye in last October’s Group 1 Epsom Handicap (1600m) when only 1.33 lengths beaten carrying 56.5kg.

The veteran is at long odds of $26 to return to winning form and go back-to-back in the Doncaster Mile results for the first time since Sacred Falls (2013-14).

Other notable hopes in the $3 million feature include the Brad Widdup-trained Icebath with form around Forbidden Love, the spring’s Epsom Handicap winner at the track/distance Private Eye and Coolmore Classic winner last time out Lighthouse for the Maher/Eustace stable.

The 2022 Doncaster Mile is set to run as Randwick Race 9 at 5:15pm (AEDT) on Saturday with the latest markets available here.

2022 Doncaster Mile Field & Barrier Draw

Table Credit: Racing Australia.