Welcome to our horse racing preview and betting tips for racing at Bendigo on Wednesday, September 16th.
We have a rare midweek metro meeting at Bendigo on Wednesday, where the track is rated a Good 4 with the rail out 9m. There are eight races on the card and Trent Crebbin has assessed every one with his tips and best bets below!
Bendigo Racing Tips: Wednesday, September 16th
Best Bet - Race 8 - (13) Phoenix Global
Best Value - Race 5 - (1) Sanctimonious
(2) Fixated has had 5 starts and only finished as close as 2nd, but he brings solid form for this first up assignment. Two starts ago he started $2.80 against Forever Free and finished less than a length away. He’s jumped out well and draws to do no work. (3) Raazou narrowly beat home (8) Sensational Reward on the synthetic. There’s not a whole lot between them and whilst the latter draws wide, he is a better price.
(8) Minola looks ready to win here 3rd up. Whilst he finished 10th last start it was in a much harder race behind Sirrconi and Game Keeper, and Minola wasn’t beaten far. He’s lightly raced, won easily 3rd up last prep and gets in with 56kg. With the Preusker touch and added fitness he should be going close. (5) Protection Money is always around the mark and whilst he was a touch disappointing last start but is always around the mark. (3) Barade bolted in with the Warracknabeal Cup and is certainly good enough.
Quite a few non winners in this race and it’s a tough one. I’ll side with (8) Stardayz who will be right on speed and does try hard. Its form is consistent and ran 3rd in what was probably a tougher race last start. The other on speed horse (3) Highclass Harry who won three in a row before running 2nd last start over 1600m. He draws wide here but will come across and potentially even cross Stardayz. (7) Blinder is arguably the best horse but hasn’t delivered this prep after promising to do so. If he brings his 3rd at Sale behind Howlowcanyougo he’ll win but the two since then have been poor. (10) Bacchus is another that really struggles to win and will need a dry track.
(2) Fiorente’s Girl seems to be better on the synthetic but is a mare racing very well. She draws nicely in barrier 6 and has won twice on turf so may be able to make the switch. (4) Look Sharpish stays at 1600m which is the query for me. She ran 2nd in a Tasmanian Oaks over 2100m last prep and would be suited up in trip here. (9) Shush has been around the mark all prep and is another that probably needs dry ground to feature. Her form around Chassis and Rich Hips is certainly good enough but she’s stuck on the one win which worries me. (8) Dance Date is in a similar boat to Fiorente’s Girl coming off two straight synthetic wins but draws very wide here and this is a step up. Tough one, but Fiorente’s Girl maps fairly well and can continue her good form.
(2) Fiorente's Girl
$7.00
Good race. (5) Cambourne looked good on debut at Donald and whilst the time wasn’t amazing, he did it easily. (6) Early Morning Rise is the favourite but draws a touch awkwardly and hasn’t exactly set the world on fire in two runs this prep. There are two with 3yo form that I think could potentially measure up here. The first one is (9) Montia who comes here 2nd up. She’s had a decent break to get over the run at The Valley, where she started hard in the market but was a complete forgive on the track. 2nd up last prep she ran a good 4th in a stakes race to Larimer Street. The other horse is coming off a two year break which is obviously a huge concern, but (1) Sanctimonious does have some talent and I think it’s interesting they’ve brought him straight to Melbourne. As a younger horse he took on some good races, including a Sires and a Danehill. He’s been gelded, had three trials over 1000m to get fit for this assignment and won the last two fairly convincingly. They could have given him a run in Adelaide but to come here and strike a fairly hot race suggests the horse is going well, so at the price I have to be with him.
Value: (1) Sanctimonious $13
Going again with the McEvoy team in the form of (9) The Difference. I’ve been following this guy in Adelaide all prep and he’s been quite impressive winning his last two as favourite. He was four weeks between runs heading into the last but scored comfortably over 1250m. He gets his shot in Melbourne and can measure up for sure. (13) Shotmaker has turned into a bit of a tease this prep after winning a maiden as the $1.35 favourite. He should have map favours over The Difference, but the difference is, The Difference is a winner! I’m also really keen to see (10) Westbrook Park back at the races. I’ve got a fairly high opinion of this horse and think he can measure up in a strong race this spring. The 1300m first up is probably a touch short but I’ll be having something on him late, hopefully after a market drift.
Value: (10) Westbrook Park $12
Going to have something on (12) Cloudbreaker at big odds here. He’s another that comes here off that Valley track, where he settled back and had no hope. 2nd up in his first prep he beat subsequent group 2 Sires winner Lunar Fox. There does look to be a fair bit of speed in the race so they might not ride him overly aggressively, but I do hope that Lane doesn’t completely snick him because he’s got plenty of tactical speed to find a spot midfield. (11) Special Snap is the favourite coming off a good 2nd to Sierra Sue first up. She’s finding it tough to win but is right in the game and maps well. (9) The Natural is the third McEvoy runner in as many races. He comes here off an 8 week let up and is another speed influence. He finished well down the track last start in the Lightning after sitting outside a good tempo and fading to be beaten 9.2L by Parlophone. It wouldn’t shock me to see him measure up at all but I’m not sure this is his race. (4) Goldifox flies 2nd up and was good fresh. She gets Willo here and is definitely good enough for this. Tricky one and Special Snap seems a touch short, so I’ll have something on Cloudbreaker.
Good race to finish. There are only two horses that stand out to me as winning chances and it should be a good battle. The first is the favourite (9) The Gauch, who couldn’t have been more impressive winning at Mornington, powering away to beat a handy field by 5L. He drops from 1200m to 1100m here which is a slight concern, but a good track should suit. It’s hard to ignore the Maher/Eustace combo anywhere at the moment. The other is a horse I have a lot of time for in (13) Phoenix Global who is now with the Corstens stable. First up last prep he absolutely bolted in, leading all the way at Ballarat. He then went to a handicap sprint at Caulfield and pulled up with a slow recovery as the $2.40 favourite. His 3rd up run was the one I loved however, controlling the race and comfortably beating Alfa Oro who was first up. He’s jumped out very well and if ready to go, the market could really come for him late. At the prices I’m going to be backing him and just risking The Gauch, who I admit is hard to beat.
(13) Phoenix Global
$4.40
