The totesport.com November Handicap is the traditional closer to the UK turf Flat season and typically it's a competitive affair with 25 runners going to post on Town Moor.
There's been plenty of rain in South Yorkshire the last couple of days with the going now soft at Doncaster and that will be music to the ears of many of the trainers who've had their eyes on this prize for a while.
The money came for John Gosden's Charm School early last week and he goes on soft, but is an unknown quantity over a mile and a half.
It could be just what he needs, but that's a pretty big 'could' to be chancing at the prices.
Godolphin's Baila Me is proven at the trip and the ground after winning a Group One in such conditions in her native Germany at the backend of last season.
She could well outclass these but is priced up accordingly as favourite and I do worry about her big weight in the conditions.
Hillview Boy has run two cracking races at Doncaster recently, when winning a 10-furlong contest from off the pace in August and then when going close over a mile and a half only two weeks ago.
He is a threat to all but is yet to win at the trip and has had a long hard season.
I prefer something that is relatively fresh having been aimed at the contest for some time and the horse that fits the bill is Alan Swinbank's Ella at 11/1.
Her dam, Flossy, won the November Handicap 10 years ago off a light weight and Ella could be about to follow in her hoofprints off a mark of 90.
On her last two starts last season she hacked up on heavy ground off marks of 72 and 81 at Pontefract and York, the latter a win over a mile and a half that proved for the first time she stayed the trip.
They also showed that soft ground or even worse was a pre-requisite so the dry summer that followed meant we didn't see Ella reappear until August.
That was on the All Weather at Southwell and she was predictably a bit rusty and trailed in eighth of 10.
Next time at Ripon she improved, finishing fourth, beaten nine lengths in a 10-furlong contest on good to soft. Not her ideal conditions but it showed she's coming to a peak.
The icing on the cake in her story came at Nottingham last time, just three weeks ago, when she finished third, beaten a length and a half off a mark of 88 in soft conditions over 10 furlongs.
That should've put her bang on for this and with the vibes from the Alan Swinbank stable good, she should be backed to fulfil a well thought out end of season plan.
Preview posted at 1130GMT on 06/11/2009.
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