Punters had the upper hand over the bookmakers on the opening day of the prestigious St Leger meeting at Doncaster on Thursday, according to Britishgambler.co.uk
Favourites triumphed in four of the eight races, while the other events were also won by horses who were prominent in the betting market.
Read on as we recap some of the standout races, starting with a hugely impressive victory for a Godolphin-owned runner.
Musical Times Hits All the Right Notes
Musical Times burst into the picture for next season’s 1000 Guineas with a ridiculously easy victory in the Group Two May Hill Stakes.
The daughter of Lope De Vega was unbeaten after two starts at Newmarket and Yarmouth, but took a major step forward on her third outing.
The Charlie Appleby-trained 7-4 favourite shot clear under jockey William Buick over a furlong out before pulling over seven lengths clear of her rivals.
“Coming into the race I wouldn’t say I was trying to sit on the fence, but she shows so much natural pace at home, I thought ‘I hope she stays’,” Appelby said.
“She should stay on pedigree but everything at home has been very zippy and we saw that through the race today. She’s handled everything and the race was faultless, wasn’t it?
“There was a nice pace on, she travelled into it, travelled up to leaders well and most importantly she accelerated, which is what you always like to see.
“I don’t see why she shouldn’t be a Guineas filly. We won this a couple of years ago with Desert Flower, who went on to win the Guineas.
“Funnily enough I see this filly as more of a Guineas filly than Desert Flower, who was a big and scopey and unfortunately didn’t quite win the Oaks.”
Waardah Set for Step Up In Class After Park Hill Win
Waardah is set to tackle Group One company after claiming an eye-catching victory for trainer Owen Burrows in the Park Hill Stakes.
Consent made a bold bid to make all the running, but the 5/2 shot overhauled her to win by a length and three quarters. Danielle stayed on into third place.
Burrows is now eyeing a possible bid for a Group One double, with the Prix de Royallieu at Paris Longchamp and Champions Day at Ascot on his radar.
“I’m pleased the hood was on because she jumped a little bit too well,” Burrows said. “She wears it at home because she’s not easy and the team at home do a god job keeping a lid on her.
“She got into a nice rhythm and two furlongs out I was happy. She’s in the race in France and if that went well and Ascot turned up soft and she was well, I wouldn’t be afraid to back her up.
“She’s had a quiet year because the ground hasn’t been in her favour at all and I can imagine she’ll be heading to the breeding shed after this season.”
Night In Vegas Hits the Jackpot
Night In Vegas justified heavy support in the betting ring to claim a noteworthy success in the Weatherbys £300,000 2-Y-O Stakes.
The Eve Johnson-Houghton-trained Night In Vegas travelled smoothly behind the leaders before bursting into the lead entering the final furlong.
Night In Vegas lands the Weatherbys £300,000 2-Y-O Stakes 🥇
A winner for @bishopcharlie12, @johnsonhoughton & the @KennetValleySyn 👏 pic.twitter.com/tPEZ7ef5hH
— ITV Racing (@itvracing) September 10, 2026
The winner previously won a similar contest at Newmarket and Johnson-Houghton has urged the owners to resist the temptation to step back into Group-race company this season.
“It’s really hard as a three-year-old to win big money, so you’ve got to win it this year,” she said.
“Then you can go and have fun in black-type races or whatever and try to be clever, but let’s just go for the money.
“He’s in the Two-Year-Old Trophy at Redcar and he’s also in the seven-furlong Tattersalls October Auction Stakes.
“It just depends whether we go back to six furlongs or go up to seven, and then I think we’ll probably end up at Ascot for the conditions race on Champions Day.”
The strong results for favourites also highlight why bettors looking back over a day’s racing need to consider the actual outcome of their bets rather than simply counting winning selections. A bet calculator can be useful for checking returns across multiple races, particularly when different selections have been backed at different odds. Instead of assuming every selection has won, the result of each runner can be entered individually to calculate the actual return from the day’s bets.