St Leger Festival Day 2 Tips: Check out our best bets for Doncaster on Thursday

There are seven races taking place at Doncaster on Thursday afternoon, as day two of the St Leger festival takes centre stage, and we have three bets for the action on Town Moor...

13:40 Doncaster - British Stallion Studs EBF 'Carrie Red' Fillies' Nursery

Charlie Appleby will have one eye on Saturday's St Leger, as he looks to claim the final Classic of the season with Hurricane Lane, who is a red-hot favourite for the staying showpiece, but he stands a great chance of notching a win on Thursday in the 13:40 event, which is a nursery contest.

Appleby will saddle SUMMER'S DAY, who broke her maiden tag at the third time of asking at Brighton last month, and while this is a significant step up from that low grade the manner in which she eased to victory suggested there could be a fair bit more to come in the future. Breaking well, Summer's Day was sent to the front by William Buick that day at Brighton, but it was the way she put the race to bed in a matter of a few strides that was the impressive part of the performance.

Easing comfortably clear of the field that day, she will enjoy the slight step up in trip to six-and-a-half furlongs on Thursday, as she was not stopping at the finish, and while she will have some lively adversaries in this event, with DaiquirI Francis and Dora Penny looking key challengers, Summer's Day could prove to have a bit more potential than that duo, and she can bound to glory here.

14:10 Doncaster - Weatherbys Scientific 200,000 2-Y-O Stakes

There's a hugely competitive juvenile event at 14:10 and the likes of Tom Dascombe's Ever Given and Andrew Balding's Harrow head into the valuable prize on the back of notable wins, and that pair are battling it out for glory in the 6f event. However, with a field of 22 runners declared there's sure to be some eye-catching performances from bigger priced contenders and there's an interesting challenger at huge odds that is worth backing.

Like Harrow the one of interest also comes from Balding's yard and it's ROBASTA, who showed to be a useful colt when getting the better of Tyson at Ascot two starts ago. Having been well beaten in the Windsor Castle Stakes at Royal Ascot, the son of Mehmas returned to the Berkshire venue in July to land a nursery prize in excellent fashion. Tyson has since gone on to win a Bath impressively, and the third place at Ascot Flaming Rib went on to win a hugely competitive York nursery. The trio pulled well clear of their rivals that day at Ascot over six furlongs, and a repeat of that effort would see Robasta feature here.

Balding sent Robasta to Glorious Goodwood, but the step up to seven furlongs proved far from ideal, and he appeared to not see out the trip, so a drop back to six furlongs on Thursday at Doncaster should see him in a much better light, and available at 25/1, at the time of writing, he looks a superb each-way play.

15:15 Doncaster - Hippo Pro3 Park Hill Fillies' Stakes

Some exciting three-year-olds dominate the betting for the Group 2 Park Hill Fillies' Stakes, which is off at 15:15 at Doncaster on Thursday and the John & Thady Gosden-trained Free Wind is clear at the head of the market, as she looks to improve on an impressive Group 3 success in France last time out. That victory came over 1m 4f that day, and she will step up in trip for this 1m 6f event, which will be a whole new test, and she could prove to be vulnerable in the closing stages to a proven stayer.

The one that catches the eye is Roger Varian's three-year-old contender SAVE A FOREST, who was last seen bounding to victory in a Listed event at Newmarket over 1m 4f. The daughter of Kingman outclassed Yesyes that day at Flat HQ, and the pair will lock horns again on Thursday, but Varian's charge was dominant at the finish that day, and while like Free Wind she is yet to run over this far, it could be the making of her, and she is worth taking a chance on.

With the ground likely to be quick, Save A Forest has wins on good to firm and good ground, so the underfoot conditions should play to her strengths, and having previously finished fourth in the Oaks at Epsom she has shown a real high level of form, and will prove very tough to beat in a trappy renewal for punters.