Doncaster Mile Preview and Tips 05/04/25

It’s Day One of The Championships, so strap yourselves in for two Saturdays of epic Group One races. The highlight of Day One is, of course, the Doncaster Mile. But that’s not all, we are also treated to the TJ Smith Stakes, the Australian Derby, the Inglis Sires Produce Stakes and the Country Championships Final (which isn’t technically a Group One).

As we have come to expect, the Doncaster Mile at Randwick Racecourse is a stacked field. There are 20 confirmed runners, plus four emergencies, just in case there are any pre-race scratchings. It’s quite an open affair as well, with Gringotts and Linebacker currently the equal $6.00 favourites with PlayUp.

With so much racing, you’ve come to OnlyRacing at the right time. My Saturday tips have landed for all five key events at Randwick, but the focus of this tips article, in particular, is the Doncaster Mile. Make sure you check out all my best bets for the Doncaster Mile right here. Let’s get cracking!

There looks to be a bit of speed in this year’s Doncaster Mile and I would expect Royal Patronage to cut across to try and take the lead from barrier 19. Things seemed to have worked out for Rise At Dawn, who is the other likely leader and won’t have to do much work from barrier two (as long as he can get into the starting field as the first emergency).

Gringotts and Linebacker are the current equal favourites and Gringotts will probably look to settle one or two off the leader, jumping from barrier six. Linebacker jumps from barrier 14 and he’ll probably look to push forward in the opening stages to try and get in a better position with cover.

There are a lot of live chances in the 2025 Doncaster Mile and it was difficult for me to nail down my best bet, but I do like the look of Tom Kitten. The gelding is currently going around with odds of $7.50 with PlayUp, which makes him one of the more favoured runners. The 4YO comes into this one fourth-up and should have a lot of fitness under his belt.

Tom Kitten comes through the George Ryder Stakes which has produced 15 winners in the last 29 years. Not a lot went right for him in the George Ryder Stakes, where he finished fifth, but he did hit the line strongly which bodes well for the extra 100m he’ll get here. He also had a wide barrier last time out, this time he gets barrier one. Main hope in my eyes.

Gringotts is one classy horse and it would be silly for me to not include him in my set of tips for the 2025 Doncaster Mile. The 5YO is the current equal favourite with Bet365, paying $6.50 for the win (along with Linebacker). He is another that is coming through the George Ryder Stakes and he was just able to get the win in that one by 0.02L to Fangirl.

Jockey Tommy Berry, who has been on board for Gringotts two runs so far this prep, retains the ride and it wouldn’t surprise me to see the pair notch up another Group One victory here. The only query for mine is the handicap conditions, where he hasn’t exactly lit the world on fire in the past, but this time out, he does carry less weight, so that will work in his favour.

The only reason we are getting such a good price for Rise At Dawn at the moment is because he is the first emergency, so he hasn’t yet booked his spot in the starting field. If there is one scratching, the gelding is in and I would expect his odds to shorten, so get while the going is good. At the moment, you can pick up Rise At Dawn for $26 to win at Dabble.

The gelding will be tackling the Doncaster Mile third-up and he won first-up but then his performance in the All-Star Mile last time out left a bit to be desired. He finished sixth out of seven in that one but he has been back at the trials since and he does like the softer ground, with a record of 4:2-1-0 on Soft-rated tracks.

With just 49kg on his back, Lineback is certainly one of the main dangers on the 2025 Doncaster Mile. On top of this, Lineback won the Randwick Guineas last time out, beating the likes of Broadsiding, Swiftfalcon and Aeliana home. At the moment, you can pick up Linebacker with odds of $6.75 at QuestBet, which puts him on the second line of betting.

He rose to the occasion last time out and when the pressure was turned up, he just kept on delivering. The 3YO has had a tick-over trial since then and Zac Lloyd, who was on board for Linebackers Randwick Guineas win lines up again. This time, he’ll carry 7.5kg less, which is a massive swing and he won’t know himself!

We never really know what we’re going to get with Kovalica, but at the price, I’m willing to take a small chance. At the moment, the 5YO is going around with odds of $26, thanks to Bet Right. The handicap conditions do suit and there’s a bit of a swing in the weights compared to what he had to lug around last time out in the George Ryder Stakes.

In that race, he finished seventh out of 11 runners and that was the first run in his prep. So, he should have fresh legs in this one, where others are coming into the race three runs deep. He does have a decent second-up record as well (5:2-1-0) but will have to do a bit of work from the wide barrier.

All my Doncaster Mile horse racing tips and their odds can be found here:

Bookmaker	Tip	Odds
	Tom Kitten (win)	$7.50
	Gringotts (each-way)	$6.50/$2.65
	Rise At Dawn (place)	$7.50
	Linebacker (each-way)	$6.75/$2.55
	Kovalica (place)	$7.00