Rosario
Rosario did well to finish third in the Portland Handicap at Doncaster on Saturday. Held up through the early stage of the race by Tom Marquand, and racing towards the near side from his high draw, he came under a ride as they quickened at the two-furlong marker. He had to do a lot of running on his own towards the near side as the race developed on the far side, but he kept on gamely all the way to the line to finish third, just a half a length behind the winner Eternal Sunshine.
This was a race that was dominated by the horses who raced prominently, middle to far side. The four horses who, with Rosario, filled the first five places were drawn, respectively, 11, 10, eight and nine, and they all raced middle to far side from early. Rosario raced mainly on the near side from stall 16. Also, those four horse were second, sixth, third and ninth after they had gone two furlongs. Rosario was 15th, and he was fastest of all through the final two furlongs of the race.
Roger Teal’s horse hasn’t won since he won a five-furlong handicap at Goodwood in early May, but he ran well back at Goodwood three weeks ago, and this was an even better run that that. The handicapper raised him by 2lb for Saturday’s run, but that still leaves him on a mark of 93, 1lb lower than he was when he won at Goodwood in May and 9lb lower than his peak. He is another horse who goes well at Doncaster - this was his second run there, he finished third in the Flying Childers as a juvenile on his first – but he also goes well at Goodwood and Newmarket, and he will be of interest wherever he goes between now and the end of the season.
Doncaster, 13th September 2025
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