Timeform SmartPlays: Saturday September 15

We're kicking off in the very first race (13:50), a mile handicap that contains plenty of familiar names. One of the most familiar among them is Invisible Man, who might be something of a rare winner but looks poised to strike. Fifth in the Hunt Cup (which he won two years ago) at Royal Ascot, this Godolphin charge looked to take kindly to a change of headgear at York last time, finishing mid-field but getting no sort of run having travelled well. His mark is now 3 lb lower than when he ran in the Hunt Cup, which would rate as a much more competitive affair than this, so the anticipated return to his best could see Invisible Man prove hard to beat.

Call it brave, call it foolish, but the 22-runner cavalry charge that is the Portland is next in our sights. You can obviously make a reasonable case for about a dozen of these, but the one that catches our eye is Mick Easterby's Ancient Cross. He enjoyed a fine 2011, finishing fourth in this very race off a mark 6 lb higher than he'll shoulder today, and 2012 hasn't been anything like as bad a year as his form figures would suggest. In fact, you could easily come to the conclusion that he's been building up to something all year long, his latest start on the Knavesmire promising considering how far off the pace he raced. Ancient Cross ran in the same race prior to his good effort here last year and the feeling is that this sort of race might have been his target all season long.

We're hoping that there are no shocks in the following St Leger, the upsets being saved for the next race, the Park Stakes at 16:15. Strong Suit mightn't be anywhere near as short at Camelot, but even so plenty will be surprised if he's turned over and that's exactly what we hope can happen just a week on form his effort in the Sprint Cup at Haydock. Instead, we're siding with the up-and-coming Lethal Force. A useful two-year-old who was nonetheless one to be slightly wary of, Lethal Force has left his quirks behind of late for the fitting of headgear, taking a big step forward when landing the Hungerford Stakes at Newbury last time. Admittedly, he was given plenty of rope in front that day and held on only by a neck from Strong Suit, though improvement is more likely to come from Lethal Force than his main rival even before you factor in Strong Suit's flop last week. There doesn't seem to be tremendous competition for the lead and, if that works out to be the case, we're hopeful of the same result bearing out as at Newbury.

Timeform SmartPlays
All at Doncaster
Back Invisible Man @ 7.06/1n the 13:50
Back Ancient Cross @ 16.015/1 in the 15:00
Back Lethal Force @ 6.411/2 in the 16:15

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