Merry Christmas to all the punters at PlayUp, and if you’re still looking to buy those last minute Christmas gifts for friends and family, hopefully these Wednesday selections can help to foot the bill. A great day of racing here, with meetings at Warwick Farm, Doomben, Oakbank, Sandown and Ascot, as well as Happy Valley later on in the evening. Check out our selections below.
Sandown:
R2 #6 Vidiano $6.00 at PlayUp – Comes here to a BM64 second up in her career, after running third on debut at Geelong behind the smart Sensationalisation. That horse then went and ran 2nd in a nice race at Flemington, franking the form line. Obviously this is a big ask out of maiden grade with no win to her name, but her run on debut was great. She was awfully held up until the final 200m of the race, where she worked home in a race fastest 12.17 seconds last 200m sectional. With clear running that day, i’m tipping she goes extremely close to winning, as the loss of momentum from not being able to get a run was a huge detriment. Out to the mile here will really suit, and she maps well in behind the speed from her barrier. At the current price, I thought she was worth a nibble. Will definitely be saving on the favourite Narvaez, who looks to lead and control the tempo.
Suggested bet: Win #6 Vidiano, save on #3 Narvaez
R4 #11 Moeen $4.40 at PlayUp – Keen to be with the lightly raced Moeen, who returned very well last prep when finishing 3rd behind Witchfulthinking here over 1300m. Her last 600/400m sectionals were the best of the race by over 1L, she will strip much fitter for that run, and coming to 1400m second up looks very suitable. Sticks to the same grade and drops 2kg, she gets in very well at the weights. As for the expected wet track, she ran a very strong race at this track last prep on a soft7, so I have no doubts on her ability to get through it. From the wide draw she will need a touch of luck finding a position, but I think she is a deserved favourite and i’m keen to play. The other bet in the race looks to be Part Time Lover, who finished 2nd last start and ran meeting fastest closing sectionals, is very fit now fourth up and handles the wet.
Suggested bet: Win bet both #11 Moeen and #12 Part Time Lover
R5 #6 Livingstone Falls $3.40 / #8 White Hibiscus $5.50 at PlayUp– Keen on another two bet play here, with both very talented horses going head to head in what is sure to be an awesome contest. Starting with Livingstone Falls, who comes off an extremely impressive maiden win at The Valley over 1600m. She was forced to sit three wide without cover the entire run, and was still strong through the line to win by close to 1L, with a big gap back to third. Third up, sticks to the mile, and is clearly a very talented horse. The one query is the wet track, and whether she can handle it. That’s were White Hibiscus comes into play, second up here out to a mile after a solid first run in Australia over 1300m last start. She was really strong through the line, and previous form in NZ on wet going suggests this step up to the mile will really suit. Her jump outs leading in to last start were very strong, and she is proven on wet going.
Suggested bet: Win bet both #6 Livingstone Falls and #8 White Hibiscus
R8 #8 Platini $5.50 at PlayUp– Platini looks a decent bet here in the last, coming to this 1200m fresh off the back of a spell. He has had two jump outs leading in, and they have both been strong work without being asked to extend. His latest one over 800m he finished 2nd under a strong hold behind stablemate Zesty Belle, who then went to Mornington and won nicely. The trial was in the fastest heat of the morning, and Platini sat wide throughout the entire journey. He is a lightly raced 4yo with a lot of upside, and his wet form last prep is really strong, so I expect him to be able to handle the soft going over 1200m here fresh. Maps for a suck run from the inside, and the stable of Ellerton/Zahra is airborne at the moment, so no doubt he will be running well.
Suggested bet: #8 Platini each way
