Best New Zealand racing tips for Ellerslie and New Plymouth
MOST of the focus this weekend is on the fantastic racing action at Moonee Valley, Randwick and Caulfield, but New Zealand is hosting two premier Saturday meetings as well.
What better way to kick off Super Saturday than with a bet across the Tasman? Ellerslie and New Plymouth host quality cards which are still being affected by the wet weather, but that doesn’t mean the betting opportunities have dried up.
The winter specialists are out in force at both meetings and we have found our best tips with form and updated odds.
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Ellerslie Race 2 – Sleeping Beauty
Sleeping Beauty has looked impressive in winning its last two starts and another run at Ellerslie will do it some good.
The O’Sullivan/Scott-trained five-year-old has relished the wet tracks this campaign and its last two wins have been quality. It won by 1.3 lengths at Matamata and stepped up in grade to win by 4.5 lengths at Te Awamutu last start.
It last ran at Ellerslie in May when finishing second behind race-rival Myrcella, but Sleeping Beauty has improved significantly since then and the $2.20 at Bet365.com looks like a good early bet.
Ellerslie Race 4 – Youwantmore
Youwantmore comes out of the Gobstopper race at Awapuni and that form should stack up nicely for this.
The Robert Priscott-trained five-year-old is a pure wet track specialist which has won five of its 14 starts on the heavy tracks with four placings.
It has won only once from 19 attempts on good, dead or slow, so the track conditions at Ellerslie are going to suit perfectly and it’s a track it has won at in the past.
The daughter of Sufficient is bred to enjoy these distances and carrying only 54kg will do it plenty of good.
It’s currently $3.10 with bookmakers.
Ellerslie Race 5 – Mongolian Legend
The Baker/Forsman team lines up class act Mongolian Legend which won its only start on a rain-affected track.
The winner of three from nine starts scored a heavy track win at Matamata in August by three lengths despite sitting three wide and enduring a tough run.
Its subsequent effort for second at Ruakaka was respectable as it was stepping up in grade and racing on a much harder track.
The son of Fastnet Rock finished ninth behind Gingernuts in the New Zealand Derby and although it finished over seven lengths behind the Windsor Park Plate champion, form in that Derby has stood up last and this season.
It’s short in the market at $2 with CrownBet, but those odds are justified.
New Plymouth Race 1 – Euphoria
Rachael Frost lines up Euphoria which scored consecutive win in October last year before running into a tough field fresh up in the autumn.
The Rip van Winkle four-year-old then traveled to Ipswich where it ran sixth, but that was a strange training decision and it’s much better suited sticking to New Zealand tracks.
It’s a mare which has had its fair share of problems, but it owns some serious pace as shown when winning by three lengths on a slow track and it should have enough speed to win over this 990m distance.
$2.80 at Bet365 is the shortest we’ll take, but it’s worth including this Saturday.
New Plymouth Race 2 – Sensible Princess
There will be plenty of multi-bets running through Sensible Princess which has rattled off three consecutive victories.
The talented daughter of Street Sense hasn’t been tested in all three wins, scoring by margins of 2.3, 2.5 and 3.3 lengths. It was especially impressive last start at Awapuni where it traveled wide and put the field to bed with 300m to go.
All seven of its career starts have come on a heavy track and conditions are going to be ideal again on Saturday.
It faces a tough field of open handicap types, but carrying 55.5kg helps and it’s the form runner of this field at $1.90 with Topbetta.com.au.
New Plymouth Race 5 – King Cougar
King Cougar is having its fourth run this campaign and it has made a nice start to its career.
The patiently-handled four-year-old won its first two starts by a combined margin of 8.3 lengths before running third last start.
Punters should forgive its most recent defeat as it was forced to sit out four wide throughout the race and it still challenged gamely to the line.
The win on debut came by seven lengths and that gave a good indication of how well it can cope with winter tracks. Back onto a heavy track will be ideal and it’s another paying good each way odds at $4.20 with Sportsbet.com.au.