Dave Nevison: top tips for day one of the St Leger meeting

It is unbelievable that the final Classic of the season is looming. The St Leger meeting seems to come around quicker every year. 

An unusual card for the opening day of the meeting features three nursery contests, which I have swerved. But there is a good Sales race and a decent all-aged handicap to get stuck into. 

Ed Bethell felt Intrusively was good enough to take down to Goodwood for the Group Two Richmond Stakes. Even though he was a big outsider at 40/1, he fully justified the run by staying on well into third place.  

He looked very much as though going back up in trip and on a much more conventional galloping track would suit him well, so this Sales race looks an ideal target. 

His victory last time told us little new about him, but he won impressively by 6½ lengths, so he certainly does not look to have gone backwards since Goodwood. 

The front three in the market are all drawn in single figures, so he looks to be drawn on the right side of the track and Rossa Ryan is always a strong booking these days. 

I like these Sales races and hopefully Intrusively can win this for the North.  

A feature of Charlie Deutsch’s riding over Jumps for me has been his judgment of the pace of a race, so I am putting that down as a positive in this Jump Jockeys’ Derby. 

He could also be on the best-handicapped horse in the race in any case as Enochdu is down to a mark just 3lb higher than when he won off at Bath earlier this season. 

He has won off today’s mark in the past and his recent efforts including a good second on similar soft ground, suggesting he is well capable of winning again.  

Twelve furlongs on a straightforward flat, galloping track such as Doncaster has long looked like being ideal for Indemnity.  

His pedigree is full of close relatives who have done their best work over this trip and it is surprising to me that he has never been tried over it before. 

Last time out he was a good fifth at Hamilton over just under 10f. He stayed on well after losing his place and waiting for a gap to come. 

The winner has gone in again since, so the form looks good enough and Indemnity getting dropped 1lb may be generous. 

His only career win came at Nottingham, which is largely flat, and hopefully Roger Varian’s four-year-old, who has sometimes looked cumbersome, can come good on the Town Moor.