BIG day of racing from our Provincial areas, with the running of the Ballarat Cup and also ’The Gong’ from Kembla Grange in Sydney, worth a whopping $1 million.
There’s 10 race cards from both venues, plus a stack of other racing around the country as well including the G1 Railway Stakes from Ascot. Plenty of winners to be found, starting with the five below from our PlayUp form analyst.
Ballarat:
R1 #4 Lightouse $2.15 at PlayUp
Very keen on the Maher/Eustace runner here, coming off a dominant victory first up in Australia. They took her to Kyneton for his Aus debut, and she ran extremely strong figures to win over the 1200m. The overall race time was 3.5L quicker than standard for the class, as were her last 400m and 200m sectionals for the day. Should only be further improved off that run, and from a soft draw with another low weight she can win again.
R6 #10 Barragunda $19.00 at PlayUp
Potentially bumping into a very smart one here in Marabi, but at the big double figure price I think Barragunda is worth an each way play. First up from a spell, and jump outs leading in have been very solid. Managed to win two from three starts last prep, including a first up win at Geelong on a similar wet track as today. He also beat a smart field at Sandown, before finishing in behind I’m Thunderstruck at The Valley who is since a G1 winner. The booking of D Oliver is strong, and he maps well from the draw.
Kembla Grange:
R3 #8 Dragonstone $2.15 at PlayUp
Very keen to see the return of this Mikki Isle gelding, who performed very strongly in his debut prep earlier this year. He was last seen running second to Sky Command on a very heavy deck at Randwick, in a race that produced subsequent winners in Forzanini and Vianello. His last 200m split on that day was 10L quicker than standard, and came from off the pace on a day where it was near impossible to make ground. A very good trial leading into this on a dry surface tells me he has come back in top order, and can be winning fresh.
R7 #4 Pandemic $12.00 at PlayUp
This Godolphin runner had been flying before an uncharacteristic disappointment down the Flemington straight behind Quantico last start. I think he is a horse better suited around a bend, and now comes back to Sydney fourth up ready to peak around the Kembla circuit. He ran the fastest last 600m, 400m and 200m when resuming at Caulfield, and he has his hoof right on the till for another win. Drawn perfectly in barrier two, and will be suited by the dry surface as well.
