Interstate Racing Round Up: Saturday 30/4/16

Apr 30, 2016
9 min read

Picture: Vince Caligiuri

The winter carnival is starting to heat up in Brisbane with racing from Doomben this weekend. As well as that it's the stand alone Hawkesbury meeting with the Guineas and Cup to be run there. They're also racing at Caulfield (again) and although there are no stakes races on the card it still looks a strong meeting.

Caulfield

The track is rated a Good (4) at the time of writing and the rail is in the true the entire circuit.

Race 3 1100m Changing Places Real Estate Handicap

No age restriction. BenchMark 78. No sex restriction. Handicap.

Speed should come from Toothless with Tankster and Magnagem handy as well. It doesn't look to be a race with mad speed at all.

Magnagem is backing up after running a good 0.2L 2nd to Bella Capri last weekend. She was on speed there and kicked well on the corner and was only grabbed late. She draws barrier 3 here and can land on the speed without doing any work and gets 52kg after Jake Bayliss' claim. She looks hard to run down.

My Poppette is clearly the class in this. She won the Group 2 Fillies Classic at Moonee Valley on Cox Plate day last year and then ran midfield in the Wakeful before a spell. The 1100m looks to short for her and barrier 14/60kg are against, but she is class and must be respected.

Squeaky Squirrel has been good in his first two runs following a spell with a 2.5L 3rd to Society Man and a 1.35L 4th to Well Sprung to his name. He goes well at this trip (8:2-1-3) and gets 56.5kg after Dunn's claim.

Most of Olivier's form is on rain affected going including his first and only start for Darren Weir where he won a decent BM84 over 1000m at Ballarat. That was nearly a year ago now though and it might pay to watch him go around here, but he is talented. Toothless worked early first up and stuck to it's task okay. Can improve here second up.

Advice: Magnagem gets everything to suit here and should be hard to beat. Watch My Poppette, she is the best horse in the race and presents good each way value.

Race 6 1200m Australian Seating Systems Handicap

Three-Years-Old. No class restriction. No sex restriction. Handicap.

Speed could come out wide from Bassett and in the middle from Amadeus and Punt Club. Ragazzo Del Corsa and Equinova can sit handy also.

This is clearly the easiest race Bassett has contested since his first start (where he beat Kinglike) and looks a major chance here. This prep he has run a 0.2L 3rd to Santa Ana Lane, a 3.5L 5th to Super Cash and then ran poorly in the Arrowfield in Sydney after a tough run where he was wide with no cover all the way. Importantly, he gets in with 57kg after Allen's claim and gets back to Caulfield where he is 4:2-0-1. Barrier 13 makes it tough but he's the class.

Amadeus looks smart and is on the up. After winning his first 2 races in good fashion he stepped to the Bendigo Guineas over 1400m and ran 2nd to Silent Sedition. He's freshened up and back to 1200m and will certainly take beating.

Tan Tat Charger is another lightly raced galloper on the up. He has won his last 2 starts, defeating Tango Rock two back over 1200m and then winning at Cranbourne over 1200m a fortnight later. He can take the next step here.

Manhattan Blues is also a horse that has competed in higher grade than this and was a super winner first up over 1000m at Bendigo. His run after that at Sandown was average over 1300m when 9th beaten 5.3L.

Advice: Bassett is clearly the class runner here and $6.50 appears to be overs. Big watch on Amadeus/Tan Tat Charger to see if they can take the next step.

Race 8 1400m Charter Keck Cramer Plate

No age restriction. No class restriction. No sex restriction. Handicap.

Charmed Harmony will burn across from out wide with Sistine Demon and Longeron pushing through from the inside with Lord Durante. The speed is usually genuine when Charmed Harmony is engaged.

Hi World is first up here and is a multiple Group 3 winner. At his last first up run he was 5th beaten 1.55L in the Group 1 Memsie Stakes over this trip. Following that he ran in three more Group 1 events and wasn't beaten far besides the Toorak Handicap. He gets 3 kilos off for Ben Allen here and will carry 56kg. He will need luck from barrier 11 but if he gets it he is a huge winning chance.

Charmed Harmony loves 1400m and loves Caulfield. He was really good last time out in the Vic Handicap when he led and gave a big kick on the turn, only to be run down late by Black Heart Bart in near record time. Gets 59kg after the claim and should be able to cross from barrier 10.

Sistine Demon ran really well in the Anniversary Vase first up here over 1400m. He is a very good first up horse but his second up record (6:1-0-0) isn't too flash. He does draw barrier 3 here and should push forward and do no work in doing so. If the top two have to work hard from their wide draws he could be the one to catch.

Enquare has been racing well, with his last two starts being a 3rd to She's Miss Devine/French Emotion and a good closing 3rd in the Anniversary Vase. The problem with him is that he just hasn't won for so long. But, he is in form and must be considered.

Advice: No other horses in this field have run a 1.55L 5th in a Memsie. If he runs up to that effort Hi World is the one to beat, especially after the claim. If there is an on pace bias lean towards Charmed Harmony and Sistine Demon.

Doomben

The track was rated a Good (4) at the time of writing but there is plenty of rain forecast in the coming days so it may be downgraded? The rail is out +4.5m the entire course.

Race 1 2200m Windsor Management Insurance Brokers Open Handicap

No age restriction. No class restriction. No sex restriction. Handicap.

Volkhere should press on and lead with Lock's Legend, Legsman and Maurus all handy.

Maurus is a lightly raced but talented galloper from David Vandyke yard. He was very good first up over 1500m behind Himalayan Dream and then ran 3rd to Libran/Allergic over 2000m at Randwick. He's previously run 2nd in the Group 3 Kingston Town over 2000m to Silverball and his only unplaced run was in the Group 1 Metropolitan. He has trialled twice in preparation for this, the latest a good win over 1200m. He's well weighted with 56.5kg and he has more upside than these.

Caillebotte has been to 2200m three times for three wins. His last two runs were two wins over this trip, the first a 3.8L win at Ipswich in a Class 3 and the latest a 3.3L win here in BM85 grade. He is up in grade here and meets a decent field but he is in good form and gets James Orman on board.

Lock's Legend has had three runs at the mile this time in and is finally out to a trip which he was been at once and won. He hasn't been beaten more than 2.2L in any of those runs. Should get a sweet run from barrier 2.

Volkhere should lead pretty comfortably and has a great record at this track and trip.

Advice: Maurus looks to be on the up here and his form is good enough to see him winning here. The space between runs is a slight query but he has trialled twice so it shouldn't be an issue.

Race 6 1200m National Fire Industry Association QLD Victory Stakes - Group 2 $200k

No age restriction. No class restriction. No sex restriction. Standard Weight for Age.

Didntcostalot will go forward and Pinch River should cross from out wide. Artlee should snag back in the field from the outside barrier. Fell Swoop maps to get the perfect run in the box seat or one off from barrier 2.

Fell Swoop is an absolute beauty. His record is 13:8-2-0 and he loves this trip (4:3-1-0). His preparation has been fantastic. He was a certainty beaten in the Oakleigh Plate first up, running 2nd beaten 0.1L after being held up for the first 200m of the straight. Second up he was very good in runing 4th beaten 1.5L in the Galaxy. After that he was 2nd in the TJ Smith at his first go at Weight For Age. It took Chautauqua to beat him and he beat English who came out and won the All Aged Stakes. He maps perfectly here and looks the likely winner here.

Artlee is biggest danger. He's a really good horse in his own right and was incredibly unlucky first up when he was full of running but unable to obtain and galloping room in the straight. He will be the one chasing Fell Swoop late.

Knoydart was 2nd in a pretty good field second up after having the dream run behind the leader. He is a good horse but has been unreliable for punters over the years and I don't think he can beat the top pick here.

Didntcostalot has raced really well since going to Queensland for Tony Gollan. He'll lead and he loves this track (6:4-1-1) but may be a bit outclassed.

Advice: Fell Swoop really deserves a win and I think he gets it here.

Hawkesbury

The track was rated a Good (4) at the time of writing with a chance of rain during the day. The rail is in the true the entire course.

Race 4 1100m Hawkesbury XXXX Gold Rush

No age restriction. No class restriction. No sex restriction. Quality.

Sweet Serendipity should push through from the inside with Furnaces, Inz'n'Out and Coolring all handy. There looks to be a decent amount of speed in this.

Early in his career Kuro looked to be a horse going places but he has struggled his last two preparations. The key to him here today though is that he has been gelded, has the tongue tie off, cross over noseband off and the blinkers off. I think that suggests that gelding him may have helped iron out some of his race day quirks. He was given a soft trial leading in to this and won it nicely and has been freshened up since disappointing in the Oakleigh Plate. He can turn his form around and win this.

Coolring is racing in good form. He was third to Malaguerra in the Star Kingdom and then went to Toowoomba and was beaten on the line by Choice Bro. The Bjorn Baker stable is flying at the moment.

Alberto Magic won three in a row prior to running 8th in the Star Kingdom after pulling up lame. Freshened up here he must be a chance. If it's wet he grows another leg so keep that in mind.

Furnaces shows a lot of ability in it's trials but didn't put it together race day first up, like a lot of the Exceed And Excel breed do. He is obviously talented and carries 56kg here, but my gut feel is that he is a bit of a speedy squib. He'll probably come out and prove me wrong now!

Advice: It's definitely worth backing Kuro here now he's two stone lighter and at a very backable price. Back Alberto Magic if the track ends up worse than a Soft (5).

Race 8 1400m Blacktown Workers Hawkesbury Guineas

Three-Years-Old. No class restriction. No sex restriction. Set Weights plus Penalties.

Speed should come from Spill The Beans out wide with Suspense, No More Tears, Handfast and Lady Jivago all capable of being handy.

Handfast is 3/4 since being gelded and the latest of those was a dominant win the the Listed South Pacific at Randwick on the 9th of April. He was midfield with cover in that run and exploded away over the last 100m to record a pretty emphatic win. The form out of that race has been slightly suspect but he appears to be rising to another level every run since being gelded and that can continue here.

Spill The Beans was 4th to Press Statement at his only try at 1400m. Prior to that he won the Eskimo Prince over 1200m beating Le Romain. He gets the blinkers off here and might settle better towards the lead. He has drawn wide though so he will need to get across easily if he is to win this race.

Denmagic is racing well enough to win this. Her first up 3rd in the Darby Munro was super, running home hard late. She then got back and ran on soundly in the PJ Bell and the James Carr. The 1400m looks to suit her here and she will get the gun run from barrier 3.

No More Tears improved at her second Australian run, running 2nd to Yattarna in the 1400m James Carr. She was midfield on the rails and worked home solidly on that occasion. She is 5:1-0-0 on Good tracks and considerably better overall on wet tracks so it would pay to watch the condition of the track.

Suspense has won 4/5 with his only failure being a last start 7th behind Handfast. He tried hard but may not be quite at this level yet. The same can be said about Red Extension. He's won 2/3 but is jumping up from a Class 1 at Kembla Grange for this.

Advice: Handfast looks to be on the up here. A repeat of his last performance sees him winning this, but you might want better odds than $2.50 before jumping in. Denmagic is drawn and weighted to win. Watch market moves around her.

Our Bets

Caulfield

Race 3 - Magnagem - 1 unit win

Race 6 - Bassett - 1 unit each way

Race 8 - Hi World - 1 unit win

Doomben

Race 1 - Maurus - 2 unit win

Race 6 - Fell Swoop - 3 unit win

Hawkesbury

Race 4 - Kuro - 1 unit each way

Race 8 - Handfast - 1 unit win

*Prices are as they appear on Sportsbet at time of writing*