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John Hunt has a trio of tips with analysis for the opening day of the Betfred St Leger Festival at Doncaster on Thursday, live on Sky Sports Racing.

A brilliant four days at Doncaster, live on Sky Sports Racing, get underway with a certain amount of guesswork required as to how testing the ground will be on day one on Thursday.

With declarations made on Good to soft/soft in places and with a dry Wednesday possibly followed by a rainy opening morning, horses who like cut in the ground should be well suited and with that in mind, all four first-day fancies should be happy ground-wise.

Watch every race of the Betfred St Leger Festival live on Sky Sports Racing (Sky 415 | Virgin 519) from Thursday 14 to Sunday 17 September.

IRON LION is my main hope on day one in the Hippo Bamboo Wipes Handicap at 4.10 over a mile and a quarter. Each of his five runs to date have been good but he certainly seemed to up his game considerably when winning over course and distance last month and clearly revelling on soft underfoot conditions for the first time.

He was so impressive powering clear late on and I don’t think the form should be underestimated either. Iron Lion beat Wonderwall into second, a horse better known for his jumping exploits but who boasted smart bumper form in the past. The third horse, Anjo Bonita, has won twice since, including off a mark of 76 last time out while the fourth Jeff Koons very nearly won at Ascot at the weekend.

The form looks good and remember Iron Lion gave them all a proper pasting too. Granted, the handicapper has revised his opinion of Iron Lion upwardly, but the older horses look to concede lots of weight, and I think it will take a decent one to stop him here.

GOLDEN LYRA goes down as a decent bet in the feature, the Betfred Park Hill Fillies Stakes at 3.35 over one mile and six furlongs, with conditions likely to be firmly in her favour allied to the fact that she takes a step up in distance for the first time too. She has to have easy underfoot conditions.

Golden Lyra is by Lope De Vega out of a mare from the family of soft ground-loving, German Derby winner Sea The Moon, and runs over a trip here that could be the making of her. Golden Lyra had a really good 2022 which included picking up a nice prize on soft ground at Saint-Cloud. This year she has had three runs; the first two looked decidedly average but last time at Deauville in the Group 2 Prix De Pomone, she looked a lot better.

That was her first run over a mile and half, and she did really well to finish a close fourth, especially having been ridden right at the back of the field in a steadily run race. She made up plenty of ground to only just miss out on a place and the really exciting thing about the run is that she looks sure to improve again for Thursday’s trip.

The form was given a considerable boost at the weekend too as the winner Melo Melo came within an inch or two of winning the Group 1 Prix Vermeille, denied only by Warm Heart. I’m keen to take on the runaway Goodwood winner Sumo Sam as he looked the only horse to enjoy dreadful conditions in the Lillie Langtry Stakes.

Not long later, the card was abandoned and I’m not sure the form can be trusted. James Fanshawe is a trainer I always like to follow as autumn approaches and it looks like HERITAGE HOUSE has been found a really nice opportunity in the second race on the card, the British Stallion Studs EBF ‘Carrie Red’ Fillies Nursery at 1.50.

She won in splendid style at Leicester on her most recent start, overcoming a sloppy start, and recovered well before easily asserting late on. It was a thoroughly likeable display on quite quick ground, but a bit of juice should really suit her.

Heritage House is by Dark Angel whose offspring tend to love soft ground out of an unraced mare who was from the same family as the top-class Mehmas. A 5lb rise in the weights could easily be offset by more suitable conditions here.

JOHN’S BEST BETS (SCALE 1-5 POINTS):

1.50 DONCASTER – BRITISH STALLION STUDS EBF ‘CARRIE RED’ FILLIES NURSERY – 1pt win HERITAGE HOUSE

3.35 DONCASTER – BETFRED PARK HILL FILLIES’ STAKES – 1pt win GOLDEN LYRA

4.10 DONCASTER – HIPPO BAMBOO WIPES HANDICAP – 2pts win IRON LION

Watch every race of the Betfred St Leger Festival live on Sky Sports Racing (Sky 415 | Virgin 519) from Thursday 14 to Sunday 17 September.