Doncaster, Saturday 18 July 2026 — Tips & Selections

Doncaster, Saturday 18 July 2026 — Tips & Selections

A seven-race card at Doncaster on good to firm ground, and the going suits horses who travel through their races rather than those who need cut. Three races have been supplied with runner data, and there is plenty to dig into across a sprint handicap, a juvenile novice, and a 7f handicap under the lights. With Glorious Goodwood just ten days away, trainers with horses at the top of their form will not be hanging around, and the yard stats here reflect that.

5:40 — Go Racing In Yorkshire Summer Festival Apprentice Handicap Stakes (5f, Good To Firm)

A six-runner sprint with two horses arriving in form, and the market has them bang on. Come On Over Each-Way at 5/2 with Boyle Sports is the pick. David O’Meara’s yard has only been firing at 6% over the last fortnight, but the horse’s own form makes the trainer’s recent numbers largely irrelevant here. He won last time out, finished second two starts prior, and he has form over today’s trip on good to firm ground. The apprentice rider Conor Whiteley claims five pounds, which keeps the weight manageable and adds to the appeal. The question mark is the mixed efforts before that winning run, but on current form he is the one to be on.

Ancient Times at 5/2 is the obvious danger. Harry Eustace is operating at 21% from 14 runners over the last fortnight, one of the sharpest yards in the field, and this horse won last time out over the same trip and going. The concern is the three beaten efforts that preceded that success, including a couple of zeros, which suggests he can be inconsistent. If you want to take a saver, Startling at 5/1 has posted back-to-back placed efforts and will collect each-way money in a field this size.

• Selection: Come On Over (5/2, Boyle Sports / Betfred)
• Each-Way: Startling (5/1)

6:15 — British Stallion Studs EBF Restricted Novice Stakes (7f, Good To Firm)

Sanbona Warrior goes off a short-priced favourite at 5/6, and the market has clearly latched onto a debut second that looked promising. William Knight has been clocking a 20% strike rate over the last fortnight, which backs up the confidence. In a field of mostly unexposed or unraced juveniles, experience counts, and a debut placed effort at seven furlongs on decent ground puts Sanbona Warrior ahead of most rivals in terms of known quantities.

The bigger interest at a price is Regalism Each-Way at 6/1 with Boyle Sports and Betfred. William Haggas holds a 17% course record at Doncaster across a substantial sample of 523 runners, an A/E of 0.87 that is honest rather than spectacular, but in a race like this it is the trainer’s judgment that matters most. Harry Burns takes off three pounds on a 2yo, and Haggas rarely saddles juveniles without a genuine view of their ability. At three times the price of the favourite, this looks worth covering each-way.

Keep Grating at 9/2 for Richard Hannon, who has placed six from fifty in the last fortnight, deserves a mention. Two starts, form reads 63, improving trajectory, and Sean Bowen takes the ride, which is not a booking to ignore. Still, Regalism at the bigger price is the more interesting call.

• Selection: Sanbona Warrior (5/6, Boyle Sports / Betfred)
• Each-Way value: Regalism (6/1, Boyle Sports / Betfred)

6:45 — Lakeside Village Is 30 Handicap Stakes (7f, Good To Firm)

The feature race of the evening, and the one that needs most unpicking. Highest-rated runner Akkadian Thunder at 7/2 looks the most solid case. A rating of 98 in a field where the second-best mark is 97 gives him a genuine edge on figures, David Nolan rides, and the horse has raced over today’s trip on this going before. He has been back quickly inside a fortnight, which suggests the team feel he is in the right place right now. David O’Meara’s yard is only at 6% over the last fourteen days, but when the horse’s own profile is this compelling, the yard stat is a secondary concern. The worry, as with everyone in this race, is a lack of a win in five starts, but a good third and honest placed efforts suggest he runs his race.

Egoli Each-Way at 8/1 deserves serious consideration. Ralph Beckett has been operating at a staggering 31% over the last fortnight, and Beckett’s Doncaster record across 411 runners is well-established. A speed figure of 95 is the standout figure in this field, and at a three-year-old weight-for-age allowance in a handicap, Rhys Clutterbuck gets on a horse with upside. The below-par ninth two starts back is the blemish, but a hot yard at 8/1 in a nine-runner handicap is exactly the each-way profile BonusDevil readers should be targeting.

Yorkshire at 9/4 with Edward Bethell, whose yard has been firing at 26% in the last fortnight, looks obvious but hard to dismiss. Kevin Stott is a strong booking. The issue is a form line that reads 469-09, with nothing jumping out as a win is near. Value is thin at the price.

• Selection: Akkadian Thunder (7/2, Boyle Sports / Betfred)
• Each-Way value: Egoli (8/1, Boyle Sports)

Today’s NAP

Egoli — Lakeside Village Is 30 Handicap Stakes (6:45, Doncaster)
Odds: 8/1 — Boyle Sports (others: 17/2 Betfred, 15/2 LiveScore Bet)

Ralph Beckett at 31% in the last fortnight is the sharpest trainer angle on the card, and Egoli’s standout speed figure of 95 is the fastest raw number in this field. Three-year-olds get the weight allowance in a nine-runner handicap on good to firm ground at a course where Beckett’s record across 411 runners speaks for itself. At 8/1, the market has underestimated the yard’s current form and the pace figure. This is exactly the profile that returns value over a season.

Each-Way Recommended — 3 places at 1/5 odds