WA's home of harness racing, Gloucester Park, hosts another 10 race card this Thursday night, March 14th, with three Group 2 feature races headlining the meeting!
The first race of the night gets underway at 5.50pm WST, with the final race of the night set down for 10.35pm WST.
Check out our thoughts on all 10 races below!
GLOUCESTER PARK HARNESS TIPS
Best Bet: Race 4 Mitch Maguire
Best Value: Race 10 Ultimate Major
RACE 1
Livura looks very hard to beat in the opening event which is a Level 12 race. He failed to beat a runner home first up but was held up in the home straight. He has the gate speed to lead with Back To Beach racing behind the leader and Smoldering Ashes three back on the pegs. There doesn’t appear to be too many winning chances based on the barrier draw. Neighlor, Back To The Beach and Kimani are the main chances but they will need to be good in order to run down Livura. The race doesn’t have a genuine breeze horse which will help Livura’s chances of success.
RACE 2
My top pick in the race Im Soxy is only $1.55 fixed odds. The price is about right considering he will work to the lead with Ona Happy Note taking a trail. Soho Wonder will be three back on the pegs. I’m not sure what Mister Versace does from barrier 11. He could go four back but I am more inclined to think he follows Im Soxy through and obtains cover behind Major Catastrophe. Mister Versace was fourth last week and his best form is good enough to win the race. It is likely he won’t beat Im Soxy but looks a great each-way bet; more so for the place but something on the win in case he gets a perfect run one-out-one-back trail and Im Soxy doesn’t perform to his best.
RACE 3
The WA Derby Prelude looks a terrific race with five or six genuine chances. There are a couple making up the numbers but the barrier draw makes this a top race. My initial impression was to lean towards the lone filly in the race, Typhoon Tiff. Barrier seven against the boys will be a tough ask for this very talented filly who has won her past three starts. Eloquent Mach is a last-start winner of the Listed Battle of Bunbury (2100m) – he defeated stablemate Major Trojan by a neck. Robbie Easton hasn’t shown much gate speed to date which could allow Eloquent Mach to challenge Sangue Reale for the lead. Eloquent Mach is versatile and looks a backable price at $6.50 in a wide-open race.
RACE 4
The raw sectionals read well for Mitch Maguire as he meets easier opposition collectively compared to his recent starts. Three starts ago he won a FFA over Vultan Tin and Im Full Of Excuses. He can show blinding gate speed when asked and over the 1730m, Ryan Warwick could be tempted to blast him out in the hope of crossing Itz Bettor To Win and Overboard Again. Mitch Maguire would take a power of beating if he finds the lead. Otherwise, he will be hoping for some cover in the moving line so that he can finish powerfully.
RACE 5
The scratching of Rocknroll Lincoln hurts the Group 2 4YO & 5YO Championship (2130m). The race is now at the mercy of Handsandwheels who will lead and win at very short odds. Clarenden Hustler gets the gun trailing draw behind Handsandwheels and has very strong claims of running a place. He won two in a row before finishing 10th when racing back in the field; that was a good run as he clocked his last half in 55.5 seconds. Even-money looks a great place bet for Clarenden Hustler and the scratching strongly enhances his chance of finishing in the top three.
Clarendon Hustler (place)
$2.00
RACE 6
I have no interest in betting into this race despite it being one of the highlights on the program. The reason being is that I don’t perceive any horse to be value in the race. Three winning chances here with Shockwave, Its Rock And Roll and Patrickthepiranha. Shockwave defeated the Colin Brown pair last time but the race was put on for him. They went a scorching 1:54.4 mile rate with Its Rock And Roll and Know When To Run burning early. Patrickthepiranha also had no luck and was huge in defeat. I’m not sure what happens in this race and would prefer to sit back and enjoy the race.
No bet
RACE 7
The Group 2 3YO Fillies Sales Classic (2130m) has a $1.15 favourite in the form of Has No Fear for the Justin Prentice-Gary Hall Jnr combination. She won the Prelude comfortably and gets the barrier advantage here. I can’t see them beating her, but she doesn’t represent any value. Best to sit back and watch. My Prayer and Soho Interceptor are the most likely placegetters with smaller place hopes to La Roue De Lamour and Pippa Royale.
No bet
RACE 8
The fillies and mares’ races have been great in recent weeks and this one looks excellent. She Could Be Good leads. I don’t know who the breeze horse will be in the race. Miss Sangrial follows She Could Be Good at the start, so there is some chance she gets stuck without cover if no one else presses forward. Our Alfie Romeo gets the luxury of following Miss Sangrial everywhere she goes and with four consecutive wins to her name, Our Alfie Romeo should prove hard to beat. She led up the three-wide train two starts ago when defeating She Could Be Good and Beaudiene Beach Babe. Considering she will likely map well and can sustain a long run, Our Alfie Romeo has to be the horse to beat despite She Could Be Good improving at her past couple.
RACE 9
I’m not particularly confident about this race. I think Ardens Concord is the leader but I’m not sure who will sit outside of the leader. Ardens Concord is $1.65 which is short enough. Mister Bushido should enjoy barrier four more than last-start’s barrier eight which saw him run 11 of 12. Before that he was a winner after racing one-out-one-back. Gary Hall Jnr jumps back aboard and if he can get some cover close to the speed, then he has strong each-way claims. His form drops away when asked to make a three-wide move so if that happens, he may struggle. Charlie El and Im Batman are also right in the race from their draws.
RACE 10
Ultimate Major could be fired off the gate in search for the lead. He is the quickest beginner and he will give them something to catch if he does find the fence. Waltzingwithsierra showed good gate speed last time which is some concern for Ultimate Major crossing. I’m happy enough taking the chance that Ultimate Major can cross and his price appeals at double figures. He ran fifth last start when failing to cross Dominate The Dojo and dropping behind him. He felt the pinch in the last 50m and the drop-back to 2130m from 2536m is a plus. It has been a long time since this horse has won – the last time was January 2017 – but he looks ready to win for Clinton Kimes. Destined To Rule also looks a strong chance in the race.
