Horse Racing Tips: Ed Quigley’s Doncaster St Festival Best Bets for Thursday

Thursday afternoon brings an exciting eight-race card to kick off the Doncaster St Festival.

Our horse racing expert, Ed Quigley, shares his Betfred Park Hill Fillies' Stakes best bets and Doncaster tips for the remaining races.

Bettors can check out the best horse racing betting sites in the UK to shop for the best lines.

Ed Quigley's Horse Racing Tips for Thursday at Doncaster

• 1.15 – Art Of Life (9/2, bet365)
• 1.50 – Night In Vegas NB (5/4, bet365)
• 2.25 – Runman (15/2, bet365)
• 3.00 – Prizeland NAP (4/1, bet365)
• 3.35 – Beguiled (10/1, bet365)
• 4.10 – Waasil (9/4, bet365)
• 4.45 – Undiscovered (9/4, bet365)
• 5.20 – Eniac (scratched)

*All odds are courtesy of bet365.

Betfred Park Hill Fillies' Stakes Tips - 1m6 1/2f - Group 2 (3.00 Race)

This looks a bit of a corker, as nine Fillies & Mares' are due to battle in this test over an extended 1m6f.

There has been plenty of rain recently at the Yorkshire venue, which has turned the ground to Good to Soft, with more rain to come. This could turn into a real attritional test, where rain-softened ground combined with the long home straight at Town Moor will ensure that the petrol gauge is tested for every participant, as many of these runners head into unknown territory stamina-wise.

There isn't much to split this field on ratings, and a case can be made for quite a few runners, as this looks like a fairly wide-open encounter. The antepost markets suggest that the more experienced older types are just edging it, with the John & Thady Gosden-trained Danielle proving popular over the last couple of days. She is a tough Mare who will appreciate this slower ground, but naturally, she is a little bit more exposed than others.

There are two 3-year-olds in the line-up, and I like the chances of one of those. Andrew Balding is having a splendid season, and he is represented by the lightly-raced PRIZELAND. The daughter of Territories has won three of her six starts and looked very smart when landing a Listed contest on rain-softened ground at York three weeks ago over 1m4f. She travelled well throughout the contest and powered clear inside the closing stages, looking better the further she went. The way in which she hit the line suggests she will devour this extra distance as she steps up in the trip to the St Leger for the first time in her career. Underfoot conditions will be absolutely fine, and I think she can flourish, step up in class, and trip. The excellent Oisin Murphy is in the saddle, and this combination looks to have rock-solid each-way claims as she appears to have more upside than a few others in this environment.

Best Bet: Prizeland NAP (4/1)

Ed Quigley's Next Best Bet: Night In Vegas (1.50 Race)

We have a big field for this cavalry charge, and Eve Johnson Houghton is represented by NIGHT IN VEGAS. Quite simply, I think he is the best horse in the line-up and will take an awful lot of beating in this £300,000 race for 2-year-olds run over the extended 6f at Doncaster.

Rain-softened ground should be perfect for him, as he demonstrated when he hacked up at Goodwood back in May. He then went on to be placed in back-to-back Group 2 assignments at Royal Ascot and Glorious Goodwood, respectively, so he clearly has the class edge in this field.

An official rating of 102 suggests he has a bit in hand, and for all that he is taking on an unexposed bunch, he sets the barometer in terms of standard in this field. Charles Bishop will be in the saddle, and he will be confident of his mount being a tough nut to crack in this company.

Night In Vegas warmed up for this by winning cozily at Newmarket last time out, and looks tailor-made for this assignment. He looks like a straightforward individual with a solid temperament who looks more than capable of stamping his authority on this field and making it back-to-back wins in the process.

Best Bet: Night in Vegas NB (5/4)

Discover horse racing tips for the biggest races every week.