Given his proven stamina and upwardly mobile profile, Il Paradiso looks the value play at 9/1with Grosvenor Sport in the 1m 6f Group 1 William Hill St Leger at Doncaster today (3.35).
This three-year-old colt hails from the yard of Irish handler Aidan O’Brien who has won the races ix times
In Il Paradiso he has who has won two of his four starts this season and has a progessive profile.
The last of those successes came two starts back in a 2m handicap at the Curragh where he registered a facile 12 lenhth success over Shakspear’sgalley who had won two of his three prvious starts.
Trossachs, who finished a further 3 1/2 lengths back in third, also went into the race on the back of a hat-trick of successes.
It was a demolition job which earned Il Paradiso a crack at the Group 2 Lonsdale Cup over 2m at York and he ran an absolute bilnder to finish a 1 1/4 length third to star stayer Stradivarius who is rated 121.
He lead entering the final twp furlongs and only weakened close home, losing second on the nod to Dee Ex Bee.
That is strong staying form and Il Paradiso will not be inconvenieced by the drop back in trip.
His stable companion Western Australia looks in the race as a pacemaker to ensure that there are now hiding places for unconfirmed stayers – such as the red-hot favoruite Logician who looks incredibky short in the betting at 11/10 for all that he is an exciting prospect.
He is not sure to get the 1m 6f trip on breeding and beat a horse last tiem out that had been placed in a handicap and third in a Group 3 on his previous two starts, so what the form amounts to is questionable.
I am also not totally convinced that Il Paradiso’s stable companion Sir Dragonet, a general 5/2 shot, will be ideally suited by the trip either.
So at the odds on offer, confirmed stayer Il Paradiso looks overpriced and the one to be on in my book.
THE BET recommended bet: 2pts each-way Il Paradiso (9/1 Grosvenor Sport, William Hill – BOG)