DONCASTER'S Flying Childers Stakes offers Captain Gerrard (3.10) the opportunity to improve on an already superb record.

Bryan Smart's sprinter boasts a 50 per cent win/run strike-rate having won three of his six starts, most recently when scorching to an all-the-way success at York's Ebor Festival.

Blessed with bags of natural pace, Captain Gerrard generally gets his rivals in trouble by blasting from the gates and establishing a clear early advantage.

The minimum five furlong trip of the Group 2 dash means it's very hard to peg back classy front-runners, a remark which applies in spades to Smart's speedy colt.

At the opposite end of the distance spectrum, the two-and-a-quarter-mile GNER Doncaster Cup represents a different type of examination for the eight contestants.

The name on most backers' lips for the stamina test will be Septimus, who like Captain Gerrard, collected on the Knavesmire last month when lifting the Yorkshire Cup.

Given a well-judged waiting ride by Johnny Murtagh on that occasion, Septimus (2.40) produced a race-winning burst of acceleration.

Seeing as those tactics worked a treat, we can expect more of the same from Aidan O'Brian's Irish raider, who has hardly put a foot wrong so far this term.

Considering the obscene sums currently changing hands at the Keeneland Yearling Sales, the 26,000 guineas paid for Perfect Act (1.35) seems like small beer.

The Clive Cox trained juvenile made a most impressive winning debut when bolting up at Sandown, a victory which served notice of even better things to come.

If Perfect Act is to follow up that initial triumph in the Frank Whittle Nursery she needs to improve, nonetheless the majority of the signs suggest the filly is equal to the task.

Star of the show at Sandown might well be Padlocked (3.20) , a big bull of a colt with an extremely progressive profile.

Padlocked began life with Jeremy Noseda, but has since moved to Dave Simcock who made no mistake when producing the new inmate to score on his first run for the yard at Salisbury.

Although Simcock's three-year-old now needs a lifetime best to defy top-weight, he has the look of a horse capable of obliging in Group company before the year is out.

For the nap we go to Wolverhampton where Methaaly (7.30), has sound claims in the six furlong Leonard Curtis Handicap.

Forgive Methaaly's latest turf flop when drawn in the car park and there are serious grounds for optimism, especially if taking into account his previous track and trip success.