Gold Coast racing tips and best bets for September 17, 2022
| What | Pink Ribbon Raceday |
| Where | Gold Coast Turf Club |
| When | Saturday September 17, 2022 |
| First Race | 11:48am AEST |
The annual Pink Ribbon Raceday at the Gold Coast Turf Club will celebrate their 15 year anniversary with a nine-race program kicking off at 11:48am on Saturday. Headlined by the Pink Ribbon Cup for Fillies and Mares, along with a handy Open Handicap for the speedsters, we should enjoy some very competitive races throughout the day. After a track curator’s dream of a week in the Sunshine State, we will be racing on a Good 4 with the rail back in the true position.
PINK RIBBON CUP TOP TIP – HAKKAI MARU
The $125,000 Pink Ribbon Cup will be the feature race on the program, which is a 1200m event for Fillies and Mares. Hakkai Maru returned from her eight month spell with a dominant win at Ipswich in a 1200m event, which took her record to three wins from five starts. The Louise White-trained four-year-old mare is one from one second-up and at the distance so there is a lot of positives. Mark Du Plessis will take the ride on the daughter of Maurice, where she gets in on the minimum of 52kg. We should see the mare bounce from barrier six, travel on speed and hopefully have too much of a lead on her main rivals in the market, who will be out the back flying home.
Pink Ribbon Cup
Race 7 – 
#10 Hakkai Maru (6)
4yo Mare | T: Louise White | J: Mark Du Plessis (52kg)
GOLD COAST BEST BET – YISKA
A Benchmark 72 Handicap for the three-year olds over 1200m is the first race of the day and it is where you will find our best bet in the Lee Freedman-trained, Yiska. This looks like the ideal event for this gelding to kick off his Spring campaign. With only three starts to his name, the son of Smart Missile has been the first past the post at all three, with a combined winning margin of 8.3 lengths over his rivals. The fact that Lee Freedman has given him one trial before bringing him back to the races, tells us that he is primed and ready to go at his first up assignment. Another positive is that Tegan Harrison sticks with the now three-year-old, after riding him to all three wins during his two-year-old season. If he jumps and leads like he has at two of his three starts to date, it will be very hard to run down this exciting galloper.
Best Bet
Race 1 – 
#1 Yiska (7)
3yo Gelding | T: Lee Freedman | J: Tegan Harrison (59kg)
NEXT BEST AT GOLD COAST – LE PALMIER
The Cronin Miller Litigation Quality is the $100,000 open handicap for the speedsters over 900m and it is also where our next best bet will be looking to add to its impressive first-up record in Le Palmier. The Tony Gollan-trained sprinter has never missed a place at six first-up starts and will be looking to go a couple better than when he returned last preparation for a third at this exact track and distance. Last preparation the Spirit of Boom gelding was caught four-wide the trip and was made to work all race, but still had the tenacity to box on and only go down by 1.4 lengths. With the aid of barrier five on Saturday, Georgina Cartwright will hopefully have him right in behind the leaders ready to let rip with his lethal turn of foot and should be too hard to catch at the end of the 900m scamper.
Next Best
Race 5 – 
#3 Le Palmier (5)
6yo Gelding | T: Tony Gollan | J: Georgina Cartwright (56.5kg)
GOLD COAST BEST VALUE – LIZA WITH A ZEE
In the fourth race of the day we have a very competitive One Metro Win Handicap over 1000 metres. The Tony Gollan-trained, Liza With A Zee has won six of her 17 starts to date and we are hoping she can take home the $42,000 on offer here. The five-year-old daughter of Zoustar will be third-up today after showing her natural trait of throwing in a bad one second-up when she was dropped back to 1000m. However, she recorded a win at 1100m first-up so Tony Gollan and his team have chosen to take the mare back up to the 1100m, where she sat on pace and used her explosive turn of foot to fly by her rivals and record a comfortable 1.25 length win. Angela Jones sticks with the mare and will be claiming 2.5kg to have her right on the minimum of 52kg. From barrier four Liza With A Zee should sit just behind the lead and be ready to use that turn of foot and have too much speed for her rivals.
Best Value
Race 4 – 
#7 Liza With A Zee (4)
5yo Mare | T: Tony Gollan | J: Angela Jones (a3) (54.5kg)
Gold Coast quadrella selections
Saturday, September 17, 2022
- 5, 6, 8, 10
- 1, 6, 8, 10
- 5, 6, 7
- 4, 5, 6, 13, 15
Investment: $240 for 100%