Welcome to our horse racing preview and betting tips for racing at on Friday, October 9th.
The Pinker Pinker Plate at Cranbourne is the main race of the day as we head towards a blockbuster weekend of racing in Australia! The Horse has previewed Cranbourne's feature race and provided his best bets for Canberra and the Sunshine Coast on Friday below!
Horse Racing Tips: Friday, October 9th
The Canberra track is Heavy at the time of writing and my top selection (6) Sumdeel will be hoping it stays that way. The mare’s only win was on the Heavy going in Wagga and despite some mixed form she should be competitive in this race. She steps down from a much better race at Rosehill where she ran eighth behind Scarleo. Blake McDougall gets the ride and he should be expected to make good use of the inside gate in a relatively small field. The threat will be (7) Zarahfah but her exposed form is nothing to get too excited about. She drops from 1900 metres which is not ideal.
Cranbourne Race 5 (Market)
Looking to get something at a reasonable price here – noting that many good things today across the Australian tracks are paying around the $1.40 (that price comes with added anxiety). My top selection is (3) Cliffs Of Belaura who drops in class at her pet distance. Conditions will not matter (which feeds into my thinking when selecting something early on) as she has raced once on Soft and once on Heavy—winning both. Her overall record cannot be knocked and her recent second place was to The Gauch who was unlucky to win again in a tougher race. That’s solid form. There will be support for (8) Fundraiser who likewise drops in grade to compete here first-up. Yet to prove anything on Soft or worse—despite potential—she just can’t be placed ahead of Cliffs Of Belaura. Outside these two there is a pretty open race so include a few in the multiples. One horse that could run a sneaky race from the inside gate is (1) Rolling Moss currently at around $20. She is worth a peanut especially if the leaders are getting a good time of it.
Also backing: (1) Rolling Moss $20
(3) Cliffs Of Belaura
$4.00
Cranbourne Race 6 – Pinker Pinker Plate (Market)
The 2020 edition of the Pinker Pinker Plate brings together a handful of improving horses—several of them stepping up in trip. The track is rated a Soft 6 (at the time of writing) with rain expected to continue race day. The favourite (3) West Wind is well found in the market at $2.90. The Maher & Eustace mare won a BM70 grade race over 2080 the start prior on Soft going. The win was full of merit essentially donkey-licking them by six lengths. The punters are rightfully impressed –and The Horse agrees! The only real concern is the fact she is coming up some pretty good horses this time around. And the field last race was not that competitive with only six runners. But it was a solid win and the times back her up. Top selection to win the Pinker Pinker. (5) Realm Of Flowers will be in the market after showing some class to win a Group 3 in Morphettville last preparation. That was over 2500 metres whereas her last victory in Victoria was in a BM64. She did chase Mystic Journey in a Group 2 last race at this track and has demonstrated ability on the Soft. (8) Carrie is putting together some nice wins recently but this is her greatest test to date. She can measure up but she meets some quality mares here. The one at odds is top weight (1) No Effort sitting around the $12 who is proven on Heavy and recently won a BM84 grade race. At the price she is worth a little tickle.
Also backing: (1) No Effort $12
Sunshine Coast Race 6 (Market)
This is one of the races today where we have a stand-out top selection—but as noted above—these odds give you anxiety. So while (4) Lyrical Girl looks to be a lock, there is very little value. Bundling her up in a multiplier might be the best play. Admittedly she does go up in grade here which could prove the greatest test. That said, her last two runs were convincing wins—almost four lengths last time and over two lengths the race prior. (6) Dontdie Wondering is not a complete right-off here and can be competitive while (5) Abdicating has also shown some promise. Pushing double-figure odds you could do worse than speculate on them. But Lyrical Girl is winning with such arrogance she would need to falter here not to get the prize.