Welcome to our horse racing preview and betting tips for racing on Thursday, August 13th.
We've got four meetings around Australia today and we've got a rare weekday appearance from our main man Tim Geers, who has highlighted five races he's keen to bet in throughout the day. Find his best bets for Ipswich, Newcastle and Sale below!
Horse Racing Tips: Thursday, August 13th
Ipswich Race 6 (Market)
Very keen to back the Tony Sears-trained (4) Trengganu here, who looks the bet of the day anywhere in Australia. After deductions, she’s already been about $3.00 into $2.45 and I think she will start odds-on, so the $2.45 could be a gift. This horse made his stable debut last start, having previously been trained by brad Widdup in NSW. He was very heavily backed and bolted in by 6.8L at Toowoomba in a BM55. The stable have a great record at Toowoomba, but what’s scary is their record here is even better, striking at 40.6% last season! Apprentice Alex Patis also has about a 32% strike rate when riding for the stable. They draw well in barrier 5 and even though this is a step up in class, he should be able to handle that and I expect him to win again. Worth watching the market on (3) Niewand and keeping him safe. He makes his Queensland debut for Stewart Kendrick after being transferred from Bjorn Baker. He’s undefeated second up from a spell and can be competitive.
Ipswich Race 8 (Market)
Chris Waller’s Queensland stable have made a flying start to the new season, with six winners from 18 runners. They send just one runner to Ipswich today in the form of (6) Kimpembe here. Luke Dittman has been riding winners for fun for the Waller stable in recent months, and he makes the journey to Ipswich for just the one ride. This horse has been racing in NSW this prep and has been struggling, beaten long margins in three of his four starts. He was heavily backed at Kembla Grange last start but dropped out to run last, beaten 35L on the Heavy 10. I think he’s hating the wet ground – his only career win came on good ground and his best performance this prep was on good ground, where he still had no luck. The switch up to Queensland is probably so he contests some easier races and gets back onto firmer tracks. He won a trial before coming up here and I think he’ll improve sharply today. Drawn well in barrier 4, back him each way with $12/$3.50 available.
Newcastle Race 5 (Market)
Playing a couple at good odds here. Their prices have come in a bit after an early scratching but they still appeal. (2) Morethannumberone resumes from a spell here and this is an easier race than any of the ones he contested last prep, which were all in town. He’s had just the one trial leading into his first up run today, and it’s as close as he’s ever finished in a trial, so maybe he’s just needed a little bit of time to mature. The Hawkes team strike at about 29% here at Newcastle and he’s one of just two runners for them today. He settled handy in the trial so hopefully they can make use of barrier 5 and be up on speed. He is $9.00 and looks a juicy price. (8) Jet Propulsion is the other I’m keen to be with. He trialled nicely leading into his debut at Canterbury, but he ran last on raceday. He overraced and faced the breeze off the rail, which can be tricky to do at Canterbury. He pulled up with a slow recovery so I think we can forgive him for that performance. Maybe getting back onto a firmer surface today will help, and Tommy Berry sticks with him here after riding him last start. Berry rode Morethannumberone in his trial but jumps off to stick with jet Propulsion, so I don’t think all hope is lost just yet. The stable has a 33% strike rate at Newcastle and this is their sole runner for the day. He’s a $6.00 chance and given he started $6.50 in town on debut, it could prove profitable to stick with him today. The obvious horse to beat in the race is the favourite, (4) Reaching.
Value: (2) Morethannumberone $9.00
Newcastle Race 8 (Market)
I was keen on (1) Exhibition in town on Wednesday but they scratched him from that to race here instead, so I have to stick with him. He ran well on debut here at Newcastle over 1200m, which was just a bit short for him, but he finished off in the fastest final 200m of the race. He then went to town and won over 1500m on heavy ground. It’s been seven weeks since that race and he’s trialled in between runs. He remains at 1500m here and from barrier 3 he should be able to settle on speed behind the leaders. The horse he has to beat is (2) Sweeping Brook who will lead from barrier 1 and comes off an easy win at Wyong, but I think Exhibitions form is a little bit stronger and if he camps on the back of the leader, he should be a bit too strong late with even luck.
Sale Race 4 (Market)
(6) Slipintothis was excellent on debut over 1400m at Echuca, coming from near last on the turn to be beaten just over a length. He ran the clear fastest final sectionals of the race and the step up to the mile today should really suit him. Joe Bowditch rode him on that occasion, but Damien Oliver takes over today, which is a really eye-catching jockey booking. Notably Billy Egan is riding for Anthony Freedman in this race. He draws barrier 5 here and I would think Ollie won’t be getting back as far as what Bowditch did last start. He’ll still be back in the field as most Payne runners are, but he’s got the right man on board to time his run to perfection. Looks the winner.
