Saturday tips from Timeform analysts at Doncaster, Kempton, Stratford and the Curragh

PRINCIPALITY - 14.25 Doncaster (Rory King)

Harry Eustace has a couple of bigger bullets to fire at Doncaster on Saturday but Principality can get the ball rolling for the yard in the Spring Mile. He couldn’t add to his Glorious Goodwood win in five subsequent outings last year but ran some very good races in defeat, shaping better than the bare result on both his final two starts, and this actually represents a slight drop in class from the company he was keeping. Physically he’s the type to have done well from three to four, while his usual come-from-behind style should be the order of the day given the forecast wind.

FACTUAL FACT - 14.30 Curragh (Billy Nash)

Factual Fact is clearly a bit fragile (missed two years after winning a bumper on debut and reportedly lame when pulled up on hurdling bow last time) but has shown enough on the rare occasions he has made it to the track to suggest a race of this nature is well within his capabilities. Placed on all three starts in maidens last year, including when denied on the nod over this course and distance in November, he is starting out in handicaps from what looks a fair mark and the presence of number of prominent racers in the field means it should set up nicely for one who will stay a bit further than this.

DOCKLANDS – 14.57 Doncaster (Pat Jupp)

Doncaster hosts the traditional curtain-raising fixture for the turf season this weekend, and in one of the two listed races on the card Docklands looks a very solid favourite in the Doncaster Mile. He was campaigned in Group 1s for most of 2025, winning the Queen Anne at Royal Ascot (escapes a penalty for that win here), and hit a level good enough to see him win every renewal of this contest since 2010. His record over a mile on straight tracks bears the closest scrutiny, he boasts a good record when fresh and the booking of Spencer looks the final piece of the jigsaw, with his usual riding style sure to suit given the forecast headwind. Docklands rates as a confident selection on what could be a good day for the in-form Harry Eustace yard, who also hold strong claims in the Lincoln just over half an hour later.

GALERON - 15.32 Doncaster (Simon Baker)

Galeron hasn't won for ages, but he's been highly tried at times, and also spent a year in Australia. He's got plenty of good form at Doncaster, including a fifth, when a bit better than the result, in this last season. He's 7lb lower now despite ending last season with an unlucky-in-running second over course and distance, and Jack Callan is claiming 5lb off him this time as well. Beyond that obvious handicapping case, his come-from-behind style promises to be an asset in a race that's going to be strongly-run into a stiff headwind.

CHANGE SINGS - 17.03 Kempton (David Johnson)

The turf season gets underway this weekend, but Kempton hosts a tasty card on all-weather too and my best bet of the day comes in the finale there. Fast Track Harry is sure to be popular given how he’s begun the campaign, but this looks a tougher set up from stall 11. Durham Castle is also prominent in early markets, but his record on his reappearance is underwhelming so it may pay to look elsewhere and Change Sings looks very interesting. He’s slipped back down the weights after a poor end to 2025, but goes very well here (course record reads 1113), that third coming in this race last year. Low draws tend to be favoured here, so stall 4 looks a positive and he has the versatility to go forward if needs be, or more likely, just sit in behind the pace if it proves as strong as it looks on paper.

JUAN BERMUDEZ - 17.08 Stratford (Dan Barber)

Rather thinner pickings for National Hunt fans in the lull between Cheltenham and Aintree but it may be worth waiting for the closing race at Stratford if punting over jumps floats your boat more than punting on the Lincoln. And ‘Stratford’ is a key word so far as Juan Bermudez is concerned, as he's won here three times and had a blunder to blame for failing to add another good effort at the track to his name when last seen in early-October. This may not take much winning and the booking of Harry Cobden suggests connections feel they have Juan Bermudez spot on again for his return to the track from a mark that has slipped back down by 3lb. Hopefully, in the words of a certain local figure, it's more All’s Well That Ends Well rather than The Comedy of Errors.

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