Doncaster Wednesday

THE Group 3 Sceptre Stakes was the highlight of the opening day of the St Leger Festival on a day which saw spectators briefly return to British racecourses.

The race was won by the Andrew Balding-trained Foxtrot Lady, who scored a minor shock at 18/1 under Frankie Dettori, beating favourite Althiqa (Charlie Appleby/William Buick) by a length and a quarter, with the winner’s stable-companion Bounce The Blues (formerly trained by John Feane) beaten just a head for second spot.

The principals all came to the stands side in the closing stages, and there is little doubt that those drawn high were favoured. Fourth-placed Onassis, who raced on the wrong flank from stall one, is worth bearing in mind given she was racing against the bias.

Foxtrot Lady, a five-year-old mare, was gaining winning blacktype for the first time at her 13th attempt, and that will be good news for owner/breeder Jeff Smith, best known for the exploits of his homebred speedster Lochsong, who won eight group races in the 1990s when ridden by a young Dettori, who joked before delivering his trademark flying dismount: “Thanks Jeff – it’s been a long time!”

The Listed Scarborough Stakes went the way of Paul Midgley’s seven-year-old Tarboosh under Kevin Stott, and was another gaining a belated win in pattern company after numerous attempts as he beat Johnny Murtagh’s Urban Beat, thereby denying Frankie Dettori a double.

The winner will be aimed at the Group 3 World Trophy Sprint at Newbury later in the month, and Midgley suggested that victory there might tempt him to supplement the gelding for the Prix de l’Abbaye at Longchamp next month.

Terry Kent has come late to training having carved out an earlier career as a Newmarket-based jump jockey, but the 53-year-old has found immediate success with the useful Ataser, who was gaining his third win when landing the nursery under 5lb claimer Ray Dawson.

Kent was apprenticed to Michael Jarvis as a teenager, and kept his association with Kremlin House when acting as assistant to Roger Varian, before branching out on his own this year.

A CROWD of 2,500 were present on the day as part of a pilot event that was due to take place for the duration of the meeting, and up to 6,000 people were expected to attend the St Leger on Saturday.

Then it was announced late on Wednesday morning that, due to an increase in the rate of Covid-19 infection locally that the scheme was being suspended, with racing returning to its previous behind-closed-doors policy, much to the frustration of the BHA and Doncaster’s owners, ARC, who will be hit hard financially by the local authority’s decision.