IT will be a landmark day at Doncaster today if one of Aidan O’Brien’s four runners wins the Group 1 Racing Post Trophy, and takes the trainer’s Group 1 tally for 2017 to 26, past the late Bobby Frankel’s record of 25. It will be some achievement when it happens.

It is long odds-on to happen today too. It is understandable that Saxon Warrior is favourite, he is unbeaten in two, he was impressive in winning the Group 2 Beresford Stakes at Naas last time and, importantly, he is the choice of Ryan Moore.

Not that one of the other three can’t win it. The Pentagon may not have been that far behind Saxon Warrior on Moore’s list, he stayed on well to win the Group 3 Tyros Stakes over seven furlongs at Leopardstown last time and, by Galileo out of the Unfuwain mare Vadawina, who won the Group 1 Prix Saint-Alary over 10 furlongs, he can only improve for the step up to a mile.

Also, Seahenge has form at the track, he won the Group 2 Champagne Stakes at the St Leger meeting, and we have seen it on numerous occasions this season: a lesser-fancied Ballydoyle horse wins Group 1, shocker.

BIG PLAYER

Aidan may not have it all his own way, mind you. Former mentor Jim Bolger will surely be one of the first to congratulate him if he does break the record today, but it doesn’t mean that he will be making it easy. National Stakes winner Verbal Dexterity is a big player, his trainer has never made an effort to hide the high regard in which he holds him, and the John Gosden-trained Roaring Lion is another player: Royal Lodge winner, unbeaten in three.

That said, the value of the race may be Chilean. Martyn Meade’s horse was fairly well beaten on his racecourse debut on Newmarket’s July Course in August, but he improved significantly from that to win his maiden at Chelmsford three weeks later, and he improved again in winning a listed race at Haydock last time.

He was keener than ideal early on that day, but he picked up impressively to hit the front on the run to the furlong pole, and he stayed on powerfully all the way to the line to win by three and a half lengths from Learn By Heart, with Dee Ex Bee just behind in third. And Dee Ex Bee added ballast to the form when he won a conditions race next time, before going on to finish second in the Zetland Stakes last time.

Of course, Chilean is going to have to step up on that again if he is to win a Racing Post Trophy, but that was just his third race, he won by a wide margin and he continues to progress. It was soft ground at Haydock that day, and it may not be as soft at Doncaster today. But the times at Doncaster yesterday were slow, and it may be softer than the official description of good to soft today. It may not be far off soft. At 14/1, it is worth chancing Chilean.

LE PREZIEN’S CHANCE

They are off and running for the season at Cheltenham now, and Le Prezien could be the answer to a tricky-looking Randox Health Handicap Chase there this afternoon.

Second behind Yorkhill in the Mersey Hurdle at Aintree as a novice hurdler, JP McManus’ horse shaped encouragingly as a novice chaser last season, winning two of his first three chases – including the Grade 2 novices’ chase at Cheltenham’s November meeting – and he ran a cracker to finish third behind Top Notch and Baron Alco in the Grade 1 Scilly Isles Chase at Sandown in February in a race that was not run to suit.

The spring did not pan out as well as might have been expected for the Paul Nicholls-trained gelding, he was well beaten when sent off as favourite for the Grand Annual at the Cheltenham Festival in March, and he was pulled up in Woodland Opera’s novices’ handicap chase at Punchestown.

It may be that he proves to be better over further than the minimum trip this season, but he comes into this race as a potentially well-handicapped horse on a mark of 144, and the fast pace that this big field should generate should place an emphasis on stamina over the trip. You had to stay well to get home at Cheltenham yesterday.

Le Prezien is only six, and he has raced just six times over fences in his life, so he has bags of scope for progression. It would not be surprising if he ended the season on a mark that was a fair bit higher than the mark of 144 off which he races and, with Barry Geraghty back on board, he could start his progression for the season today.

RECOMMENDED

CHILEAN 1 point win, 14/1 (generally)

LE PREZIEN 1 point each-way, 11/2 (generally)