Another big Saturday of punting comes around, for the first time in summer. Pakenham Cup day is the feature in Melbourne, with a solid 9 race card for their marquee day of the year. There’s listed racing at Doomben, with the G3 George Moore Stakes over 1200m to be contested for some of the best sprinters in the sunshine state. Rosehill & Morphettville round out the others, while there is another huge G1 card at Ascot, with the running of the Kingstown Town Classic. PlayUp form analyst Lewis Willoughby has identified his five best bets of the day.
Pakenham:
R1 #3 Nantucket – $3.60 at PlayUp – Comes here second up off the back of a stylish fresh win in maiden grade, which was undoubtedly a deserved breakthrough victory. He spotted the leader a solid start in the straight, and really worked home strongly inside the last 150m to close off and win. Second up fitter, and sticks to the 1000m journey. Although he is up in the weights, he strikes a very winnable race and all runs last prep in town had a lot of merit. I expect them to go very quick in this race, which will set it up perfectly for Nantucket who can park off the speed and finish over the top of them late. Selections: 3-5-6-8
R6 #5 Sirius Suspect – $3.60 at PlayUp – Keen to back this horse here second up, coming off a very solid return at Flemington down the straight last start. He managed to stick on very well through the line after sitting up in the lead. He was only 0.5L off the winner Exhilarates, and there was a good margin back to the fourth placed horse Yao Dash. The form out of that race is strong, and this is a horse who generally shines second up. Sticking to 1200m suits, great second up record, and will push forward to sit outside the lead from barrier 8. Selections: 5-8-1-13
R8 #5 The Astrologist – $2.50 at PlayUp – Comes here fourth up and has been crying out for a rise in distance, off the back of two second places over the 1100/1200m trips in town. Gave away a huge start behind Sisstar at Ballarat last time and just ran out of time on the line to catch her. He will be peak fit now fourth up, and finally gets out to the 1400m journey which will suit perfectly. One attempt at this trip was a 2nd behind Rubisaki, so the form is strong and he will see out the distance. Not much early speed in this race, so expect C Williams to be prominent and put himself in a forward position and be able to win the race from there. Selections: 5-8-7-1
Rosehill:
R7 #8 Pandemic – $3.70 at PlayUp – Third up here for the Godolphin/J McDonald combination, and just looks to tick all the boxes on paper. Had to lug 60kg last start at Kembla in a competitive BM78, and he was never on the track at any stage after being caught three/four wide no cover the entire race. Prior to that forget run, he finished behind Villami and California Zimbol which turned out to be a very strong form reference. Back to 1100m here will suit, and from barrier seven today I doubt he gets caught off the track again. Hard fit, back down in the weights, the firm track suits and he is ready to rejoin the winners stall. Selections: 8-4-9-13
R9 #16 Rover – $31.00 at PlayUp – Wouldn’t be a Saturday without specking one at big odds, and Rover fits that profile here in the last at Rosehill. Comes here first up, and was a winner on debut last prep when fresh. His two trials at Randwick have both been very good, the latest over 1045m where he finished 4th after sitting up outside the lead. It was a close fourth however, and he stuck on very well with others without being tested late. He should be fitter off the two trials, and from barrier one is likely to get a real suck run in behind the speed. He probably does lack a bit of class compared to the other runners, but with only 54kg and odds near the $30 mark, he is surely worth an each-way bet. Selections: 16-1-9-12
