17:05 Doncaster

Friday 27 February 2026

All13:5014:2014:5015:2215:5716:3017:05

Virgin Bet A Good Bet Veterans' Handicap Chase

Off time: 17:05 | Winning time: 6m 21.10s

Erne River^p,t1⁷⁶

Age: 11| Weight: 12-1| J: Kielan Woods| T: N Kent| OR: 126| CD

10/1

Latest win came over C&D in December 2023 and while he's fallen a long way in the weights, he'll need to go with more fluency in a change of headgear to capitalise.

Form: 4443P-P

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Chavez⁴¹

Age: 10| Weight: 12-0| J: Charlie Deutsch| T: Miss V Williams| OR: 125

40/1

Missed whole of 2025 but shaped as though a fair amount of ability remains on first start since leaving Willie Mullins at Ascot last month. Yard going much better now but needs to prove he can back that up.

Form: 55FP/0-P

Sainte Doctor^p,t⁴⁰

Age: 10| Weight: 11-12| J: R P McLernon| T: N P Mulholland| OR: 123

7/2

Reliable sort who picked up where she left off last season when second in strongly-run handicap on her comeback at Fakenham (21.2f) last month and she isn't fully exposed over this sort of trip. Solid claims.

Form: 1112-32

Almazhar Garde^p,t⁹⁸

Age: 11| Weight: 11-12| J: David Bass| T: C E Longsdon| OR: 123| D

22/1

Has continued in fine heart since landing a double at Worcester last summer, only going down to a less-exposed rival in a thin handicap at Catterick in November. Should give his running on just his second start in veterans' company.

Form: 351142

Northern Poet³¹⁷

Age: 11| Weight: 11-8| J: James Davies| T: N J Gifford| OR: 119| CD

14/1

Dug deep to land first-leg of a double in similar race over C&D in the spring but ran a pair of stinkers to close out last season. Has gone well fresh previously but hard to be confident at this stage of his career.

Form: 2P11PP-

Ladronne^t³⁷

Age: 12| Weight: 11-7| J: Jack Power⁽⁵⁾| T: J Parkinson & S Smith| OR: 118| CD

11/2

Winner of two of his 4 starts since his reappearance, justifying support in veterans' handicap at Catterick last month. May prove vulnerable back up in class.

Form: 1-61241

Autonomous Cloud^p,t⁸⁰

Age: 10| Weight: 11-4| J: Paul O'Brien| T: Harry Derham| OR: 115| D

11/4

Still fairly useful last season but didn't look the force of old in pair of handicaps for Fergal O'Brien this winter. Not out of the question that switch to veterans' company/new yard could spark some improvement.

Form: 28-618P

If Not For Dylan^t³¹

Age: 11| Weight: 11-1| J: Alan Doyle⁽³⁾| T: L Russell & M Scudamore| OR: 112| D

4/1

Made all/jumped soundly when winning off 2 lb higher at Newcastle last January. Has still showed plenty of spark this season and he's expected to make a bold bid with yard back in form.

Form: 13-3U43

Stratagem^p,t²⁶

Age: 10| Weight: 10-10| J: Shane Fenelon⁽⁵⁾| T: M Bowen| OR: 107| C| DWS

17/2

Regressed for Paul Nicholls and similar story for new connections this season, undergoing another breathing operation since pulling up at Market Rasen last month.

Form: 4/4P-46P

Non-Runners

Magna Sam⁶⁷

Weight: 11-7| Age: 12

T: A Ralph J: C Gethings

Forecasts

Autonomous Cloud (11/4), Sainte Doctor (7/2), If Not For Dylan (4/1), Ladronne (11/2), Stratagem (17/2), Erne River (10/1), Northern Poet (14/1), Magna Sam (16/1), Almazhar Garde (22/1), Chavez (40/1)

IF NOT FOR DYLAN could be difficult to peg back if getting into a rhythm on the front-end, while reliable mare Sainte Doctor is relatively unexposed around 3m and looks a danger. Magna Sam bypassed this year's Edinburgh National but may make more of an impact following another breathing operation.