Welcome to our horse racing preview and betting tips for Rosehill on Saturday, March 14th.
The Group 1 Coolmore Classic for the fillies and mares headlines the program, with the track currently rated a Soft 5 and the rail in the True position.
Check out our race-by-race preview and betting tips below.
Rosehill Racing Tips: 2020 Coolmore Classic Day
Best Bet: Race 4 - (2) Greyworm
Best Value: Race 8 - (2) Come Play With Me
Very tricky race to kick things off and I'll happily be betting minimally here. (14) Welsh Legend might just be coming into some form; Waller runners typically get better the deeper they go into their prep, so with three runs under the belt now, and her last start the best of the three, she might be able to go close today. The form behind Mugatoo looks strong and the only negative is the wide gate today, which will see her a long way back. (7) Yonkers is looking for four straight wins after saluting over the 1550m at Canterbury in both starts this prep. Gets out to 1900m today and JMac takes over. Is still only lightly raced and is one from one at the distance so with the good draw he rates well again.
Value: (14) Welsh Legend $8.50
(7) Kumasi was nly a very narrow winner on debut at Gosford but he should have won by more and there was a huge gap back to 3rd. That backed up a very smart trial win and I think he'll be a big player here so long as he handles the wet ground. (3) Ilovemyself created a big impression winning on debut at Flemington. He's another that should have won by more but was badly held up before finally getting clear running. He comes to Sydney now and it will be fascinating to see how he lines up. Up to 1200m and wouldn't shock me to see him win well.
Having something on the two Waterhouse/Bott runners here. (8) Kaakit Akit was an impressive winner on debut at Kensington five weeks ago where she was backed as if unbeatable and justified the support by leading all the way. The query here is the fact she gets bandages on her front legs for the first time and the blinkers come off, but I'll back her in to win again today. (5) Dubai Star was similarly well supported when returning from a spell at Canterbury last start. She also led all the way and got the job done. She ran 2nd to Hanseatic on debut and then was luckless at her second start so her overall form looks quite good and she might be a bit of value at the odds.
Value: (5) Dubai Star $9.00
(2) Greyworm returned from a spell with an easy win over this track and distance in similar conditions to what he will get today. He's won four of his six starts since joining the Hawkes stable and he looks to have returned in super order so will take plenty of beating again today. (1) Tactical Advantage is the class runner of the field and he goes well first up and also at this track and distance. If he's right, he'll be launching home from back in the field. The interesting runner could be (7) Diplomatico who returns from nearly a year off the track.
Value: (1) Tactical Advantage $6.50
(6) Funstar can turn the tables on (5) Probabeel today. There was only 0.2L between them first up in the G1 Surround Stakes but Funstar was first up while Probabeel was having her third run of the campaign. Funstar is undefeated second up from a spell so expect her to improve on her first up run and if she does that, she'll be sailing home over the top of them late.
I was quite keen on (5) Imaging first up from a spell but his introduction to Australian racing was brutal, copping a few very heavy checks from Glen Boss and eventually pulling up 2/5 lame. Forgive him for that and assess him on his SP and his trial leading into that race. I'll stick with him at the better odds today. (8) Rock was sound first up and should improve. He's undefeated second up. (2) Quackerjack and (9) Vegadaze fought out the finish ahead of Rock last start and there's nothing to suggest they won't do so again.
Race 7 - G1 Coolmore Classic (Market)
History tells us to look for roughies in this race. The last five winners have paid $21, $21, $26, $15 and $16. The last favourite to win was back in 2011. There's three at big odds that are worth backing here in my opinion. (11) Spanish Whisper didn't get much luck first up in Melbourne, held up most of the straight . She has a terrific second up record with four top-two finishes from as many starts and she draws well in barrier 3. (14) Sweet Scandal was only beaten 1.7L by Dawn Dawn last start and that was after sitting three-wide without cover the entire race. She's got a terrific third up record and she handles the wet ground so with 52kg on her back she has to rate highly. (15) Benitoite loves the wet tracks - in fact she's never lost on rain-affected ground. She's also never won on Good ground, so the conditions today will play right into her faovur. She improved nicely from her fist up run to her second up run and the blinkers go on third up today with just 51kg on her back. She rates as a terrific roughie at double figure odds.
Also backing: (11) Spanish Whisper $12 & (14) Sweet Scandal $16
I'm not normally a fan of such steep rises in distance, but (10) Master Of Wine is a good horse. He won dominantly first up over 1400m, a trip short of his best, and now steps up to 2000m straight away. It's when he got to this distance last prep that he really came into his own so expect him to even improve on what he did fresh. (9) Mustajeer resumed with a good win as well, over 1900m on soft ground. He will relish the soft conditions and probably has the little fitness advantage over Master Of Wine given he resumed over the longer trip. I think the huge overs in the race is (2) Come Play With at $51. He never shows much in his first two runs back from a spell, but he tends to improve third up, with two wins from three starts. He's also got two wins from three starts over this distance, so the rise in trip will definitely suit him. Handles the wet ground no problem so at huge odds he's worth having something each way on.
Value: (2) Come Play With Me $51
(10) Master Of Wine
$2.05
(2) Something Fast resumes from a spell today with a record of five wins from eight starts. Four of those wins have been at this distance so I'm glad to see him resuming over the 1350m today rather than the 1100m like he did last prep, which he just found a bit short. The little query is the wet ground given his only prior attempt on soft tracks was a failure on debut, but he's improved plenty since then. (6) Positive Peace is absolutely flying and finds a nice race once again. She wouldn't want the track to get too much wetter as she's previously struggled on heavy going.
