I’m not usually one for blowing my own trumpet (actually, that’s bullshit), but nobody else will heap praise, so… It was a profitable day last weekend, with three of the six tips getting the chocolates, including our ‘Chips In’ selection Sayed, which was paid well, starting at $4.60. Yogi ($3.20 at Flemington) and Alamonteel ($2.35 at Morphettville Parks) were the other two winners we found, while Tumbler ($4.60) missed by a bee’s dick at Doomben. The highlights this Saturday are the Group 3 Aurie’s Star Handicap at Flemington, where G1 winners Hey Doc and I Am A Star resume, and the Listed Rosebud Stakes at Rosehill, where the highly touted Menari and the unbeaten Siege Of Quebec head the betting. With Usain Bolt-like swagger (how crap was it that he got beaten by the drug cheat last week) after last weekend, I’m again confident of a few winners.

CHIPS IN

Samovare (Flemington Race 5, No.2)

The Lindsay Park team has enjoyed great success with horses from Western Australia (think He Or She, Sheidel and Vega Magic), and they have another gun on their hands in the shape of Savabeel mare Samovare. She won at G3 level before heading east, and while beaten at her Melbourne debut when favourite, I thought her run was full of merit. She’s had a nice little freshen up since then and, although first-up at 1400m, I reckon she’s simply too good for these. Expect her to start at around $2.50.

TOMMY GUNN

Rocket Tommy (Flemington Race 9, No.7)

This six-year-old comes from a very astute country stable (Gwenda Johnstone at Echuca), and he’s extremely talented, having won seven of 14 starts and $160,000 in earnings. He’s 2/3 first-up, unbeaten in two runs at Flemington, and a six-time winner at 1100m. He also has the services of D Oliver, and in a tough race, I reckon he’s a great each way play at $7. 

BEST IN THE WEST

Gatting (Belmont Race 2, No.2)

How the hell are we supposed to make any money in WA when Willie Pike, isn’t riding? So often, after we’ve done our nuts in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Adelaide, the Wizard gets us out of jail (and the dog house). With no Pike, I’m putting my faith in apprentice Randy Tan. He rides Gatting - an ultra-consistent four-year-old, who looks well placed in Saturday’s 2000 Benchmark 78+ Handicap. Gatting won two starts ago, while last time out he was narrowly beaten when an odds-on favourite at Listed level. I’m prepared to forgive him for that defeat. He looks too classy for this lot. Hopefully we get $3.

WORTH A THROW AT THE STUMPS

Removal (Morphettville Parks Race 7, No.3)

Nick Ryan was once a bloody good apprentice, one of the best I have ever seen. Like many of us, myself included, weight got the better of him. He hung up the saddle and turned his attention to training, and in a short time at the caper, has shown he has what it takes to make his mark. Ryan has stable star Removal entered in a 1000m Benchmark 75 Handicap in Adelaide on Saturday, and although he’s drawn the outside gate, I reckon he’s worth an each way ticket at around $11.

DON’T BE A BLOODY IDIOT

Tom Melbourne (Rosehill Race 8, No.4)

I absolutely cleaned up when this imported stayer won at Flemington in March, 2016, so much so that I brought the missus a bunch of flowers on the way home from the track (a rarity). That was just his sixth start, and he looked a really promising type. Sadly for connections, and the punters that have followed him, Tom Melbourne has won just once since (at his next start in the Albury Cup a fortnight later). He has been competitive in Stakes class, but he’s become a non-winner, his winless streak currently at 11. They’ve tried different tactics, and now, Tom Melbourne finds himself with Chris Waller (he was with Lee and Anthony Freedman) in Sydney. He did look sharp in winning a recent trial, but he’s like that woman at the bar that keeps teasing you so you come back for more. I’m (quite) certain he will win another race, but until such time, I wouldn’t back him with stolen money. If you put your hard-earned on Tom Melbourne at $5, you’re a bloody idiot.

DOING IT TOUGH

Hogmanay (Rosehill Race 5, No.3)

Unless you’ve been on another planet, you will know that between July 1 and August 3, Australia’s cricketers were unemployed, after Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers' Association couldn’t agree to terms on a new pay deal. Two of those players left in limbo were Aussie skipper Steve Smith and enigmatic all-rounder Moises Henriques (one of the luckiest players to represent the Aussies, in my opinion). Smith and Henriques were obviously struggling to put bread on the table during their month of unemployment (ahem), so they’re due a change of luck. They’ll be hoping five-year-old Hogmanay, who they each have a share in, can provide a change in fortune, but there’s more chance of Henriques making a Test ton than Hogmanay scoring on Saturday.  

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