MICK CHANNON could win with the stable cat at present, such is the sublime form of his powerful Lambourn yard.

Having failed to climb on the Channon bandwagon thus far, I'm desperately hoping the bubble doesn't burst before Bravo Dancer (2.15) takes the doncaster-racecourse.com Handicap at the home of the St Leger today.

Bravo Dancer is rather a flighty filly, which has caused her to use an excess of gas in the early part of her races, leaving little in the tank come the time when the jockey was applying full throttle.

In such cases there is always the possibility horses will mellow with age, and that appears to be precisely the scenario as Bravo Dancer settled like a lamb at York last time out.

Indeed, far from being burnt out on the Knavesmire, having been behind early on, Mick's filly was beginning to close on the leaders inside the final furlong, only to have the door slammed firmly shut as the pack ahead came together in a concertina-like effect.

Tony Culhane will be comforted by the fact there are fewer runners than there were that day. So similar traffic congestion is less of a problem, moreover, provided the selection relaxes with equal alacrity she has every chance of continuing Channon's blistering run.

Seven furlongs most definitely represents a specialist trip, which is why Ziet d'Alsace is a must for the short-list in the closing Autumn Apprentice Handicap.

Giles Bravery got so fed up with the filly's errant ways that he stuck her in a seller over the distance at Yarmouth with the result that she won and was sold to another stable.

For my money connections lost patience too quickly and I believe Ziet d'Alsace will be back in the winners' enclosure, steered by the best young rider in the race, Lisa Jones.

An irritating bout of sore shins has restricted Sabbeeh (2.55) to just three outings, but all seems well now with the colt, who is certain to take all of the beating in the Group 3 Horris Hill Stakes at Newbury.

The Mick Jarvis-trained youngster, who has only been beaten once, is a big rangy type with a most pleasing attitude to his work. His latest success came at Doncaster, destroying a decent field with a rip-roaring burst of acceleration from the furlong pole.

The second-placed horse, New Mexican, has since franked the form by picking up a valuable listed contest at Pontefract this week, prompting the thought that Sabbeeh is a very useful customer.

The possible blip on the horizon is the state of the ground, still reported to be good to firm. Ideally Sabbeeh needs a little bit of give to show his best and a spokesman for the yard has reported that the selection will only run if the surface at the Berkshire venue is deemed suitable for Phillip Robinson's mount

Jarvis and Robinson might also be on the mark in the preceding two-mile Vodafone Group Handicap with Anak Pekan (2.25), an improving young stayer with the pedigree of a potential champion.

By the money-spinning sire In The Wings out of a Blakeney mare, Anak Pekan is not surprisingly something of a late developer, leaving it until August of this year to win his first race.

Punters were rightly confident of making it two on the bounce in his next race at Kempton, but they were foiled by a similarly up-and-coming three-year-old, Roger Charlton's Dorothy's Friend.

Stamina is Anak Pekan's long suit and with the vastly experienced Robinson in the saddle, plus the sure knowledge that the stable is ending the season on a high note, Jarvis's beautifully bred raider can only go from strength-to-strength.

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