Matthew Sutcliffe has a trio of tips for day 2 of Doncaster’s St Leger Festival on Friday 11th September. Check out his best bets on Doncaster Cup day.
Doncaster Racing Tips (Friday 11th September 2026)
There are eight races across the afternoon card at Doncaster, with a 1.15pm start. Here are Matthew’s top tips for Friday.
13:15 Doncaster – Betfred Flying Scotsman Stakes (Listed Race) (Class 1) (2yo) – Rock Montreal 11/4 1pt WIN
Nabati was always going to be the chosen Godolphin mount of William Buick, but it is worth noting that Roger Varian won this race last season in the Godolphin blue of Avicenna and in 2019 with Molatham, thus Rock Montreal is worth chancing against the favourite.
The Blue Point colt cost 1,000,000 GNS as yearling and certainly looked full of promise on debut at Yarmouth. He settled well in fourth under a slow enough gallop, and was Ray Dawson gave him a squeeze, the response was somewhat immediate and visually he powered clear in a smart manner in the final furlong.
He was quicker than anything in each of the last three furlongs, and his ability to both lengthen his large stride and quicken is a positive for this galloping track. Albeit the form hasn’t worked out, visually it was very impressive and he can only improve for last years winning connections.
13:50 Doncaster – Betfred Leger Legends Classified Stakes (Class 5) (3yo+ 0-70) – Caragio 12/1 1pt EW 4 places
Caragio was one of a few well handicapped ex-Martin Dunne horses going to Adam Kirby’s yard for his new yard, and very nearly landed the gamble on debut at Chelmsford behind a dual subsequent winner.
He made no mistake next time out when a three length winner at Yarmouth, pulling clear of the 13/8 favourite who’s won three times since now rated 11lbs higher. He was a huge eye-catcher last time out when rearing at the start and being ridden in rear throughout here, before making plenty of ground under hands and heels.
He’s been freshened up since then and dropped 3lbs, and switched ownership to Adam Kirby who will also coincidentally ride him. Kirby was riding him off marks in the 90s three years ago, and I do suspect that this has been the plan with him since his last effort.
14:25 Doncaster – Carlsberg Danish Pilsner Flying Childers Stakes (Group 2) (Class 1) (2yo) – El Floridita 50/1 0.5pt EW 3 places
Several of these have intertwining form-lines that would make them closely matched, along with also running below par at some stage which includes the favourite who’d have to bounced back from her Nunthorpe effort.
El Floridita has to both improve on what we’ve seen and bounce back from York, but there was slight excuses for the latest two efforts behind the market protagonists here which suggest he is entitled to get closer at insulting odds.
Despite only having a Redcar maiden to his name, he ran a huge race at 150/1 in the Norfolk Stakes to finish second to the talented Orthodox. He was well ahead of the re-opposing Agamemnon and Carry The Flag there, who’ve both franked the form since.
He was then four lengths behind Pershaada in the Molecomb, but he broke a tad slowly and overraced early on, prior to challenging on what appeared to be the less favourable far-side of the track.
There was only three quarters of a length between him and Sale Shark there who’s 9/2 for this contest and while Sale Shark lengthened that gap at York, again I though El Floridita challenged on the wrong part of the track alongside over-racing early on.
That was still a respectable effort, and I do wonder whether a return to a galloping track, where his better efforts have come (Redcar/Ascot), will suit. A first time visor is equipped to hopefully sharpen him up early on, and Rowan Scott and Nigel Tinkler won this with Ubettabelieveit in 2020.
Matthew Sutcliffe’s Tips for St Leger Festival Day 2
FAQs
What are today’s racing tips?
Matthew Sutcliffe provides his best bets at Doncaster on day 2 of St Leger Festival on Friday 11th September.
When were Matthew Sutcliffe’s tips published?
Matty Sutcliffe’s racing tips were published at 10.00am on Thursday 10th September.
Who is Matthew Sutcliffe?
Matthew Sutcliffe is GGs newest contributor, often providing a value angle for his tips. He writes weekly columns for the weekend’s racing, as well as taking aim at ante-post markets at the Cheltenham Festival. Follow him on X: @MattySutcliffe
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