It's another big Saturday of horse racing ahead of us with big meetings at Flemington, Randwick and Ascot. We have three Group 1s across two States to look forward to, including the Australian Guineas, Chipping Norton Stakes and Surround Stakes. Horse racing guru Tim Geers is back with his best bets from around the country below.
Of course, if you're looking for deeper analysis then we recommend jumping over to our dedicated horse racing site at RacingBet. We've got previews and tips for every metro race this afternoon, including speed maps, odds comparisons, and a brilliant runner-by-runner preview for the Australian Guineas from Trent Crebbin. Check it all out at www.racingbet.com.au.
Horse Racing Tips: Saturday, February 27th
Randwick Race 1
It’s not often I get involved in Highway Handicaps but (6) Water Dove looks very hard to beat. She won her first two starts before bumping into Art Cadeau in a similar race last time out. Art Cadeau then went on to win the Goulburn heat of the Country Championships qualifiers, and that horse has never finished out of the top two from 10 career starts. Water Dove gets the blinkers on for the first time today and wouldn’t have to improve much to be winning this.
Randwick Race 8
Former European import (10) Great House made a big impression last start when stepping up to 2000m at his second Australian start. He gave the rest of his rivals a good belting and was eased up the last 50m to score by 2.8L. He remains at 2000m today and draws wide in barrier 13, but he normally races back in the field anyway so the draw is less of an issue. I think he’s the best horse in the race and if he takes any more improvement from last start, he’s going to be very hard to oppose.
Flemington Race 5
I think if (2) Fabergino runs to her best here, this is her race. She’s a speedball and has three wins from four starts over the Flemington 1000m, with her only defeat coming last start in the G1 Lightning Stakes, where she ran 4th. My only slight concern with her is that she does her best racing with big gaps between races, but she comes into today with just the two weeks since her last run.
Her biggest danger could be (10) Muntaseera who has always promised plenty and her recent trial was outstanding.
Ascot Race 5
He’s starting to become a bit costly but surely this is (3) Western Empire’s race for the taking. He just wasn’t suited at all with the ridiculously slow tempo last start, and he comes up against a much weaker field today. If he runs to his best and gets even luck, he really should be winning. The only concern is if they run this at a crawl with the small field, but there does look to be a couple of speedy types so hopefully that sets up a nice enough tempo. $1.85 is available and I’ve got him rated much shorter.