Welcome to our horse racing preview and betting tips for racing on Wednesday, January 22nd.
Midweek racing takes place at Sandown Lakeside and Canterbury this afternoon and our metro racing expert @Tim_Tips has picked out his top five bets from throughout the day.
Find his preview and betting tips below!
Horse Racing Tips: Wednesday, January 22nd
Best Bet: Canterbury Race 5 - (2) Knowitall Jack (save Flying Pierro)
Sandown Lakeside Race 7 (Market)
Much like the rest of the card, this is a very competitive race. There's three horses that catch my interest here and we can back all of them. (2) Angelic Spirit is an $11 chance. She comes into this third up from a spell and should be ready to peak. She hit the front at the 200m mark last start and fought hard but was overrun with about 50m to go. She should settle in the first few from barrier 1 and even though she's got 60kg, she should be in the race for a long time. (9) Global Sanction is $19 and the $4.80 for her to place is pretty attractive if you're looking for one each way bet in the race. She's got a good first up record with three placings from four starts. She'll definitely be one to follow up in distance next start but she can run into the money here. (15) Maozi is my top pick in the race at $8.50. She had no luck at all first up when she went to the line untested behind horses at Moonee Valley. She drops significantly in the weights today and she's undefeated second up from a spell so from the good draw, I expect her to give this a real shake at good odds.
Value: (2) Angelic Spirit $11 & (9) Global Sanction $19
Sandown Lakeside Race 8 (Market)
(13) Rainbow Thief is a talented horse and he didn't get a lot of luck when he resumed over 1100m at Caulfield. He settled back in the field and was held up from the 200m-100m before hitting the line. He'll be coming from off the speed again today from barrier 9 but the step up to 1200m is a positive. With a clearer run in the straight I think he'll be able to wind up and run over the top of these. Big watch on (9) Jumbo Ozaki making his stable debut for Danny O'Brien.
Canterbury Race 1 (Market)
With the scratching of April Rain, there has been heavy support for (2) Best Stone, but I think she's had her chances and the price is a bit too short now at $2.20. The $4.00 for (3) Al Snip is a bit more attractive. She was beaten 0.7L on debut over this track and distance at the start of the month, where she sat three-wide without cover for the first half of the race. She did a good job to battle on and be beaten less than a length. Jockey change today with Tom Marquand taking over from apprentice Robbie Dolan and trainer John O'Shea has his stable absolutely flying. I think she's a bit less exposed than the favourite and in all likelihood, she'll sit outside her in the lead. I think from there she can really give her a good test and at the prices I'd rather be on the O'Shea runner.
Canterbury Race 5 (Market)
I'm pretty bullish about (2) Knowitall Jack today. He was beaten 4.2L into 4th first up over 1250m at Kensington, but he lost a plate and was galloped on during the race, so he had some excuses. The step up to 1550m second up today should bring about sharp improvement. He was a touch disappointing first up last prep but when he got up to this distance second up, he was back to his best. James McDonald takes over the ride today and from the inside gate he looks to be the likely leader in the race, which is a good thing at Canterbury. Think he'll take plenty of beating at a decent price. (6) Flying Pierro hasn't had much luck at this track in the past, with just one placing from six attempts, but she should improve sharply second up and looks a bit of value at $7.50.
Value: (6) Flying Pierro $7.50
Canterbury Race 6 (Market)
(7) Coco Cuber was a beaten favourite last start but had excuses, with the saddle shifting during the race. He raced fiercely during the run and also carried an extra kilo over his alotted weight, so he had a few little things go against him. I'm going to give him another chance today as he was impressive enough first up to suggest he can bounce back. Nash Rawiller keeps the ride and it wouldn't surprise me to see him ridden further forward today from the awkward gate. He was allowed to roll forward first up and it proved a winning move, so rather than overrace in behind, we may see him ridden positively.
