A couple of near misses on Thursday with The Bold Thady missing out by a whisker.

I thought Danny McMennamin gave The Bold Thady an absolute peach of a ride, which fully deserved a win. He snuck him into the race and delivered at the right time, but the eventual winner kept finding.

Ucanaver drifted out to 16/1, so in hindsight, she would've been a great ew bet, but tipped up at 11/2 I wasn't tempted to back her ew at that price.

Doncaster 4:20 - Hawthorn Cottage

HAWTHORN COTTAGE is a mare who has shown plenty of ability over the years, the main problem for her is that she blows hot and cold and when she is either of them, she is red-hot or she is terrible, today I'm hoping she is on form as this race looks very winnable.

The drop back in trip to 2m 4f looks like a good idea, as though she does stay further, she will have the stamina required for this galloping track with a long straight which can often see the back markers making up a lot of ground and winning in the final furlong. But knowing she does stay further than today's trip is a positive for Amy Murphy's front-running mare.

She is a front-runner who can jump extremely well when getting in a rhythm. I think that will be key to her success today as you do see it quite often that when they aren't in a rhythm, especially at a track like Doncaster they just fall apart.

Today's ground will be perfect for her and I can see her shortening closer to the off-time.