Head-to-head Windsor Park betting: Gingernuts vs. Volpe Veloce
THE Windsor Park Plate pits some of New Zealand’s best middle distance horses against each other this Saturday, but we’re particularly keen on two runners in the $200,000 race.
All eyes will no doubt be on Gingernuts and Volpe Veloce which both bring in exciting form and it could become a match-race down the Hastings straight.
Gingernuts is a winner on either side of the Tasman and it has form some New Zealand horses would only dream of having. One of those horses is Volpe Veloce, which looks like the next top-class breed to come out of New Zealand.
Both runners have been well-found in the market so we have pitted them against each other in a head-to-head battle. We have updated odds, form and our best race tip for punters looking to back either Gingernuts or Volpe Veloce.
Group 1 Windsor Park Plate betting market
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Gingernuts form
Gingernuts burst onto the scene with a win in the Group 2 Avondale Guineas in February and it has since attracted a cult following.
The Iffraaj four-year-old then went on to win the Group 1 New Zealand Derby at Ellerslie by a length over Australian visitor Rising Red and the highly-talented and subsequent Australian group one winner Jon Snow.
It was only 14 days later when Gingernuts would make a splash on the world stage when winning the Rosehill Guineas over Inference and So Si Bon. That win may have come on a heavy track which is more likely to suit New Zealand thoroughbreds, but it can run good times on good tracks and it will likely face a dead surface on Saturday.
Its performance for fifth in the Group 1 Tarzino Trophy last start was full of merit after it got too far back in running before making a late dash at them. Rising up in distance is going to naturally suit the winner at 2400m and it gets in well on the weights at 58.5kg given what it has won.
Going left handed might concern some punters, but it’s a past winner on this track and it should show its class come Saturday.
Volpe Veloce form
Volpe Veloce was a standout performer at three years old – winning seven of its eight starts.
Its only defeat came in the Group 2 Fillies Classic behind Bonneval where the jockey advised stewards that it didn’t see out the 2000m distance. Since that defeat it has won at Te Rapa by 2. lengths over former Australian sprinter Il Cavallo and also finished sixth in the Tarzino Trophy.
The track didn’t suit the four-year-old on that occasion and it may have been a bit too much too soon for the daughter of Foxwedge. It looks much more suited to the Windsor Park Plate on a better track and it could return to its winning ways.
Co-trainer Graham Richardson has big plans for the mare and he has said all along this campaign that the Windsor Park Plate would be its ideal target.
Whether or not it’s up to the level of Gingernuts is the big question. Volpe Veloce hasn’t been tested against the same level of opposition, but it also possesses a better turn-of-foot over the shorter distances and it doesn’t rely on luck in the running.
Gingernuts vs. Volpe Veloce tip
We have been fans of Volpe Veloce since it first started its long winning streak, but the quality is clearly with Gingernuts.
The proven international performer produced a great run when fresh up in the Tarzino Trophy and that would have had connections excited about what’s to come.
Punters should also be excited at the odds available. Sportsbet.com.au is offering $4.80 for Gingernuts which is much better than the $2.80 that was being offered in the ATC Derby.