Tag: racing tips

Sprinters Take Centre Stage of Day 2 of Perth Carnival

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

The racing spotlight remains in Australia’s west this weekend with day 2 of the inaugural TABTouch Masters at Perth’s Ascot racecourse. The day’s feature is the AUD $1 million Crown Perth Winterbottom Stakes, which is run under weight-for-age conditions over 1200 metres. On-pace runners dominated last Saturday’s Railway Stakes meeting but it’s hoped that, with the rail out six metres, this will be alleviated to some extent. WA’s premier sprint race was run over 1400m from 1937 until 1994 when it was cut to 1200m. Magnifisio and Buffering aim to join multiple winners La Trive (1970-71), Belinda’s Star (1975-76), Hardrada (2002-03) and Ortensia (2009, 11) and an honour roll that includes Takeover Target (2008), Miss Andretti (2005) and Placid Ark (1987).

East holding cards over west

The Winterbottom field is a fascinating mix of eastern states raiders, the bulk of which are deep into their spring campaigns, and the local contenders who’ve mostly been set for this specific race. The field of 12 is headed by the Joe Pride-trained Terravista which is coming off a last-start second to Redzel at Flemington. Darley Classic winner Malaguerra joins Terravista along with Takedown and the Lindsay Park pair of Keen Array and Sheidel in trying to claim a Group 1 for the visitors after local galloper Scales Of Justice won the Group 1 Railway Stakes last Saturday. The Chris Gangemi-trained Rock Magic is the highest-rated local galloper having won two of his past three starts while leading local hope State Solicitor will have to overcome barrier 11.

Sydney speedster the one to beat

The top two in the market are so difficult to split with Malaguerra ($3.30 with Ladbrokes) slightly shading Terravista ($3.60 with Ladbrokes). Favourites have won eight of the past 12 editions while just four winners in the past 20 years have jumped from a double-digit gate, so it’s reasonable to expect that this year’s Winterbottom winner will be wearing either saddlecloth #1 or #2. But the upside is clearly with Joe Pride’s sometimes frustrating 7yo gelding. Opening at $15 when the all-in market was released, that quote was slashed when Terravista returned in top order in the Listed Mumm Stakes on Crown Oaks Day. Carrying 60.5kg, Terravista was able to get within a head of winner Redzel. His record over six furlongs is an imposing 11:5-0-3.

Mare’s form out of this world

It’s an otherwise relatively thin day of black-type racing around the nation so for the next best of the day, check out the Roadwork Solutions Handicap (race 8) at Sydney’s Rosehill Gardens for the benchmark 78 fillies & mares over 1200 metres. It’s surprising to find #8 Interstellar at a 5-2 quote (with William Hill) with her form faultless since joining the Hawkes stake from New Zealand during the winter. She won first-up in Australia on July 30 and was barely tested in a trial at Rosehill just over a fortnight ago. This lightly raced 4yo mare has three wins from six career starts including two of three first-up and she looks a clear top pick over this fairly middling bunch.

Spring Hits The Suburbs for Zipping Classic Day

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

For the bulk of the year, horse racing is a constant on the Australian wagering landscape and it only comes to the fore in the public arena for a handful of weeks. That list doesn’t include Sandown Cup/Zipping Classic Day but this is a meeting that firmly belongs as part of Melbourne’s Spring Racing Carnival.

Situated in the heart of the city’s ever-expanding south-eastern suburbs, Sandown consists of two courses (Lakeside and Hillside) with the latter hosting this marquee meeting. Unlike its three ‘big brothers’ closer to the city, barriers aren’t a major issue and history shows that the track exhibits few signs of bias. But fitness is a major factor as the home straight features an uphill stretch that tests the mettle of both horses and jockeys. The big x-factor this year is the weather – thunderstorms and rain are forecast late on Friday evening before fine conditions return on Saturday afternoon.

Race against time for trainers

The day’s feature is the AUD $300,000 weight-for-age Quayclean Zipping Classic (2400m). It’s a race that pre-dates the track (which opened in 1965) by almost 80 years. Formerly known as the Williamstown Cup, it was shifted to Sandown and renamed the Zipping Classic in 2011 in honour of the horse that won the race in four successive years (2007-2010) for Lloyd Williams.

The owner of Melbourne Cup winner Almandin had planned to start up to four horses but will be without a runner in the eight-horse field. Five of those are backing up from the Melbourne Cup including surprise favourite Who Shot Thebarman. It’s an intriguing race as the bulk of the field are stepping back in distance to the mile-and-a-half, so it’s a challenge for trainers to freshen-up their charges less than a fortnight after the Melbourne Cup.

Orange looks the sweetest

One of the formlines that has again been franked throughout the Melbourne spring is the remarkable success of the internationals second-up. Three Zipping Classic entrants tick that box but the one that appeals is Big Orange. The six-year-old gelding is on his second trip Down Under, and he has a pair of impressive Melbourne Cup runs under his belt – fifth in 2015 and 10th this year.

However, those races were starkly different, with this year’s Cup run a staggering 18 lengths faster than last year’s relative dawdle. Jockey Jamie Spencer was caught out by that surprise pace this year but Damian Lane, who takes the ride here won’t hesitate to go forward in this field. The other two Cup runners rise sharply in weight, but Big Orange carries only 3kg extra. His run in the G2 Princess of Wales Stakes at Newmarket in July showed he can run a very sharp and quick 2400m.

Cup at Qewy’s mercy

There are only two 3200-metre races on the Melbourne Spring Carnival calendar – the Melbourne Cup and the Listed $150,000 Ladbrokes Sandown Cup. A field of 10 has accepted for the Sandown Cup with Melbourne Cup winning jockey Kerrin McEvoy again linking with Godolphin’s English trainer Charlie Appleby aboard Qewy.

McEvoy has already won the Bendigo Cup and Lexus Stakes on Appleby-trained horses this spring and reunites with Qewy on which he won the Geelong Cup last month. The stayer went on to finish fourth in the Melbourne Cup when ridden by Craig Williams. Appleby’s assistant James Ferguson said Qewy had come through the Melbourne Cup well and was in fantastic shape for Saturday, where he’ll start a $2.20 favourite with Ladbrokes. He’ll be up on the speed and looks the best bet on the card.

Le Rocher value at 12-1 for Triumph Hurdle

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

The weekend trials at Cheltenham and Doncaster did not exactly go to plan. I was looking for a big run from Rocky Creek in the Argento Chase but he went out very tamely when pressed by The Giant Bolster. Connections are apparently considering The Grand National instead of the Gold Cup after that display but I won’t be rushing to back him.

The biggest talking point of the weekend was the defeat of Big Buck’s in the Cleeve Hurdle. After a layoff of 420 days, it was surprising that Sam Twiston-Davies elected to have the horse so prominent from the start. Paul Nicholls has said that he told his jockey to be positive but most observers felt that he was in front far too early. Having said that, it was an encouraging run and he looks the one to beat in the World Hurdle.

The runner that impressed me most was the performance put up by Le Rocher in the Triumph Hurdle trial. There has hardly been a performance of note from the four-year-olds this season but Le Rocher looks the pick of the bunch on this evidence.

Vicenzo Mio was the first of several beaten favourites for the Nicholls team on the day but Le Rocher was backing up a Grade 1 win at Chepstow. Most impressively, he stretched a two and a half-length winning margin over Kentucky Hayden at the Welsh track to ten lengths here. Trainer Nick Williams has no doubt that the horse is capable of winning at the festival and I’m pretty confident that he will persuade the owners to go for the big one.

The going was very testing on Saturday so it would obviously be helpful if the going is soft in March but he also has form on a better surface in France. Ladbrokes have gone out on a limb by sticking to 12-1 and I feel that price cannot last long. He is around 8-1 generally and that is a far more realistic price.

Goodwood Mirage hardly lifted his feet over the last two hurdles when scraping home on his debut and he was little better here. I would imagine he would be heavily schooled and then given a confidence-booster before a trip to Aintree rather than Cheltenham. I cannot see him handling the hustle and bustle of a Triumph Hurdle.

Le Rocher (each-way) at 12-1 Ladbrokes