Midweek racing comes to us today with a slight twist, and that twist is there is $3 million in prize money up for grabs in the space of two races today at Warwick Farm, a far cry from the usual $50k on offer. The Inglis Millennium and Inglis Sprint are set to race today after being transferred here from the abandoned meeting on Saturday. Expecting the track to be in the seriously heavy range, so bet with caution!
Elsewhere in the country, we have racing from Sandown and Stony Creek in Victoria, and our usual stand-alone meetings from SA, QLD, WA and TAS. PlayUp form analyst Lewis Willoughby gives us five of his key bets to have today, check them out below with full analysis.
Stony Creek R4 #5 Rice Queen (BEST) BT3SP at PlayUp – This 3YO filly was very dominant in breaking her maiden last start at career run number three. She had been crying out for the extra distance and did not disappoint when putting them away by over 2L. She sticks to the same distance range today in 2100m and has the most upside of any horse in this field by far. Does have to rise in weight, but jumps from a good inside draw, and this is not a star-studded opposing line up by any stretch. Based on that last start win, she could be competitive in
Stony Creek R5 #4 Scherzer BT3SP at PlayUp – This is the best value bet of the day. He has had genuine excuses in two runs this prep, first up found all sorts of trouble at the 150m mark when bolting for a run, then second-up got back to a long last and made massive ground against an on-pace bias. Comes here third up fitter for those two efforts, and has had one start for one win at the 1700m distance. If the track ends up in the soft range (which I expect it to), he should be very competitive at a price here.
Sandown R1 #4 The Catch $8.00 at PlayUp – You have to completely forgive the run of this Ellerton/Zahra 2YO on debut. It was squeezed out on jumping and forced to settle a long last, then had to save ground and ride for luck up in between horses in the straight, which is never easy for a young horse. Through sheer speed and talent, it managed to finish 5th beaten less than 3L after all that, and the winner of that race looks very smart. Comes here now with the benefit of the race experience, Craig Williams goes aboard and it should have much better luck in running today, jumping from barrier 5. Back this colt on
Sandown R5 #6 Scottish Dancer $2.30 at PlayUp – Hard to forget the debut win of this gelding back at Benalla on the 2nd of September last year. It may not sound like much, but the turn of foot this horse showed from back in the field was incredible. He rounded them up with ease in the blink of an eye. He then went to Caulfield and didn’t appreciate having to make runs up the rail inside of horses. Resumes here, and has drawn wide which is exactly where he wants to be. If the pace goes on, he will get back and be rattling home over the top late. Has only had one jump out in preparation for this, and it was a very quiet outing. Early betting has been solid, all signs point to a big run coming up here fresh.
Warwick Farm R9 #9 Rover $5.50 at PlayUp – This Anthony Cummings horse looks to have some real upside, lines up here for his third career start. Won well on debut before nothing went right at Randwick second-up in a solid Saturday city class race. Gets the services of the in-form Tom Marquand, and jumping from barrier 12 looks set to be a bonus, as he may be able to find the better going out wide. Cummings was quoted on debut that this horse is much better suited on wet tracks, so we will see if that prediction comes true today. Betting should be your best guide, at the current price he is still
