Saturday's ITV Racing Tips: Ben Linfoot's preview and selections for Doncaster and Cheltenham

Horse Racing

Fri October 23, 2026 · 11h ago

Our form expert has three selections for Saturday's ITV Racing at Cheltenham and Doncaster, featuring the Group 1 Futurity Trophy.

The Verdict: Saturday October 24

1pt win Sovereign Spell in the 12:55 Doncaster at 14/1 (bet365, William Hill)

1pt win Sogna In Grande in the 13:10 Cheltenham at 11/1 (General)

1pt win Breacher in the 13:30 Doncaster at 11/1 (Paddy Power, William Hill)

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Life’s a Breach at Doncaster

Aidan O’Brien bids for a 13th victory in the Group 1 William Hill Futurity Trophy Stakes at Doncaster on Saturday and he sends a three-strong team to Town Moor headed by his Beresford winner Noble Exhibit.

The son of Frankel is the form pick here but the soft-heavy ground means you have to view this race through a different lens as it will likely come down to who handles conditions the best on the day.

There is very little soft ground form to go on in this race given conditions have only just turned and it is a bit of a guess up as to who will enjoy the ground and who won’t, but I’m surprised to see BREACHER’s price drift to double figures throughout the week.

William Muir has not held back in his opinion of this horse and while he hasn’t set the two-year-old scene alight quite yet he has run well each start and looks to be improving, while he could take off now the ground is testing up a furlong in trip.

A promising debut win at Salisbury hinted at his potential and he kept on well for third in the Group 3 Solario Stakes at Sandown on his second start, on ground Timeform described as soft, when the experienced leader Alfred Wallace was not for catching.

If he was done for a bit of pace that day that was certainly the case in the Group 2 Champagne Stakes at Doncaster last time on good ground, as he couldn’t live with the gears of Desert Castle, but he did again stay on eye-catchingly in third.

By Cracksman and out of a dam who won over a mile and a half, he is bred for middle distances next year, but he could easily improve a great deal on Saturday for the sternest test of stamina he has ever faced.

I think he’ll love the ground, just like his sire did, and if the form picks are below their best in the testing conditions then Breacher looks a likely type to pick up the pieces.

The Verdict: Back BREACHER in the 13:30 Doncaster

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Phillipart de Foy to cast a Spell

Earlier on at Doncaster in-form Kevin Phillipart De Foy’s SOVEREIGN SPELL is worth a bet in the opening Richard James Hone Memorial Handicap over five furlongs.

The Amo Racing horse hasn’t been seen since June but he was entered at Pontefract earlier in the month before a bad scope ruled him out so he might well have been ready for a few weeks.

His trainer has a good record with returning horses off a few months off at this time of year and they seem to go well in this softer ground, too, while this horse goes well fresh and has the knee action of one who might just relish conditions.

Gelded since he was last seen, there are several routes to improvement for this horse, another one being the combination of the ground and the trip, and he looked one to follow when going two from two in the spring including in a good three-year-old race at Newmarket which worked out well.

Forgiven a down the field run at Royal Ascot, he has Doncaster form in his locker after running very well in a good nursery at last year’s St Leger meeting and while the fancy prices have been snapped up, he still looks a bet at 14s.

The Verdict: Back SOVEREIGN SPELL in the 12:55 Doncaster

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Grande bet for Bailey at Cheltenham

Over at Cheltenham it looks a tricky card but I do want to chance Kim Bailey & Mat Nicholls’ SOGNA IN GRANDE in the William Hill Epic Boosts Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase.

Bailey traditionally does well in the early part of the jumps season proper and he’s unleashed a few nice novice chasers in this type of race in recent seasons, with the likes of The Edgar Wallace, Chianti Classico, Trelawne, Destroytheevidence and Moon Rocket all winning on their chasing debuts in novice handicaps in the last five years.

Sogna In Grande could be cut from the same cloth as he’s a winning pointer who looked an embryonic chaser last season and he did well in novice hurdles winning in soft ground at Warwick before he defied a penalty at Wincanton.

That Wincanton success was particularly impressive as he won after recovering from ringworm during a four-month absence and he did so despite being short of room before the second last.

Impressive once getting the gap, that marked him out as a horse to follow and he’s easily forgiven his fourth of four in the Listed race won by No Drama This End at Perth three weeks later.

A mark of 128 is interesting for his handicap debut, as the aforementioned Bailey five all won off debut marks in the 130s, and at double-figure prices he’s worth taking a chance on for all that we’ve never seen him jump a fence.