Hopefully we get a good crack at it over the weekend, with no meetings having to be cancelled because of severe winds! Can you believe it? That was unluckier than Patrick Dangerfield (says the bloke who had him going for a stack at 10/1, as well as the anchor in plenty of multis)! And the timing was terrible, as our ‘Chips in’ bet, Revolving Door, was only an hour or so away from bolting in (it was written in stone!). Still, we managed to find a few winners (Kiwia at Caulfield, Bollinger Rose at Gosford). With the Bletchingly Stakes now to be run at Sandown on Sunday, a day after racing at Flemington, there’s 19 Melbourne metro races to play across the weekend, plus some decent Saturday cards at Randwick (where the Group 2 Missile Stakes is the feature), Doomben, Belmont, Morphettville (Parks) and Darwin.
CHIPS IN
Sayed (Randwick Race 5, No.3)
This imported stayer may just be the best thing to come out of France since Zinedine Zidane! Okay, so a slight exaggeration, but he does have a stack of ability and is going really well, having won three of his past five starts. He should settle midfield, then be too strong for them at the end of the 2400m - a trip he won over last time out. Hoping we can get around $3.50.
MONEY FOR OLD ROPE
Tumbler (Doomben Race 9, No.7)
This extremely talented mare has had more injuries than Shane Watson had throughout his enigmatic career, but she’s as tough as old boots, and, importantly, she’s a winner. Now six, she’s had just nine starts (winning seven of them), and that’s due to her having a broken pelvis, broken splint bone in her hind leg, as well as doing a suspensory in her hind leg. She returned from a break with a fine win at the Sunny Coast on July 15, and, although she’s drawn out (gate 12), she’ll carry just 53kg after the claim of Tiffani Brooker, who is a gun. She’s 1/1 at Doomben and 2/3 at 1200m. Likely to start at around $4.
A BEARY GOOD BET
Yogi (Flemington Race 6, No.7)
A progressive stayer from the all conquering Darren Weir camp. He was a shade disappointing last time out when a beaten $2.10 favourite at Sandown, but there were some excuses. He was slow to begin, laid inwards in the straight, and jockey Craig Williams felt he would be better suited on a bigger track, which he gets here. With Williams on holiday, John Allen goes on, and I reckon the Irishman will be a good fit for this talented five-year-old. The trip (2500m) looks ideal and he should be there at the business end. Take $4 if you can get it.
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EACH WAY PLAY IN SA
Alamonteel (Morphettville Parks, Race 5, No.3)
She’s pretty consistent, this mare (24:6-4-5), is 2/2 at the track (both at this trip) and relishes the sting out of the ground, which she should get here. She won with a leg in the air here last time out, and while she rises from 75 to 82 grade, she has shown in the past she’s up to this sort of level. Will carry just 53.5kg after Raquel Clark’s claim and should get a good run from gate 3. At around $4, she’s each way all day.
TOP BET IN THE TOP END
Ticket To Toorak (Darwin Race 6, No.2)
The $200,000 Darwin Cup will be run and won at Fannie Bay on August 7, but before that, it’s the time-honoured Palmerston Sprint, worth $135,000. It’s a wise move to back jockey Willie ‘The Wizard’ Pike in Perth, well, there’s a trainer that’s just as formidable in Darwin, that being Gary Clarke. The leading handler has four hopes in the feature sprint race, and I reckon he gets the choccies with ex-Victorian Ticket To Toorak. In 10 starts in the Top End, he’s won six, tasting defeat just once in his past eight outings.
HOT CURRIE
Mustarrid (Toowoomba, Race 5, No.2)
Young trainer Ben Currie is fresh off a stellar season, having trained more winners (103.5) in Queensland than any of his peers, and winning the Toowoomba premiership. If you’ve had a shit day on the punt, back Pike in Perth and Currie at Toowoomba. Former South Australian Mustarrid pissed in last start and can make it two on the spin here.
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