Kembla Grange races preview & best bets | Thursday, February 23
| What | Kembla Grange Races |
| Where | Kembla Grange Racecourse – Princes Hwy, Kembla Grange NSW 2526 |
| When | Thursday, February 23, 2023 |
| First Race | 1:15pm AEDT |
Kembla Grange will play host to a competitive eight-race program on Thursday afternoon, including the first leg of the Provincial-Midway Championship Qualifiers. Worth $150,000 in prizemoney, the top two placegetters in every qualifier will earn a spot in the $500,000 finale on April 8 at Royal Randwick.
Outside of that there’s still plenty of quality racing to sink our teeth into, as the rail sits in the true position the entire circuit. The track is currently listed in the Good 4 range, although with rain around the Illawarra region heading into Thursday, we may be in for a downgrade. The first race is set to get underway at 1:15pm AEDT.
Provincial-Midway Qualifier: Mobstar
We’ve found a bit of each-way value in the first leg of the Provincial-Midway qualifiers on Thursday afternoon with Mobstar our on top pick. After winning first-up at Wyong on December 14, Mobstar headed up to the Gold Coast for some Magic Millions races; he was beaten 1.8 lengths by Spiritualised and after that suffered a 4.6-length defeat to Centrefire. Both were even efforts, but coming back down to NSW and finding what we think is an easier task on paper, we can see the best version of Mobstar on Thursday afternoon. His tick-over trial at Newcastle was just what followers would want to see, hitting the line strongly from the back of the field. Dylan Gibbons took the reins for the first time in that barrier trial, and of the three Kris Lees runners assembled here, Gibbons has elected to take Mobstar. He should be somewhere in the middle of the pack turning for home and, with some luck getting clear, will be right in the finish.
Provincial-Midway Qualifier
Race 7 – 
#4 Mobstar (1)
4yo Gelding | T: Kris Lees | Dylan Gibbons (56kg)
Best Bet: Copper Moon
Copper Moon was impressive on debut despite a small field at Kembla Grange on January 31. He sat outside the leader throughout the 1000m contest and kicked away from his key rival Artieos to score a 1.3-length victory. It was on a heavy surface as well, so if conditions do deteriorate on Thursday, it shouldn’t be a problem for this son of Super One. Copper Moon does get a 4kg penalty for the win, meaning Artieos meets us 3.5kg better for that first-up run; however, we feel there’s more upside for Copper Moon and he was only going away from them when hitting the line. Jeff Penza takes the ride again for trainer Kerry Parker and from barrier two gets to stalk the leaders everywhere before powering past them all again. He has to lug the top weight and maybe he wants to step up in trip already, but we’ll take Copper Moon on trust that he should only be improving here.
Best Bet
Race 1 – 
#1 Copper Moon (2)
3yo Gelding | T: Kerry Parker | J: Jeff Penza (59kg)
Next Best: High Plateau
We’ve got a keen eye on the debut of a few first-starters on Thursday afternoon, especially High Plateau for Godolphin and James Cummings. This now four-year-old has had plenty of time to develop at the barrier trials and has been impressive on what we’ve witnessed. He’s been versatile in his trial performances, going forward and getting back to run home, so barrier eight is of no concern heading into this first-up assignment. Brad Rawiller takes on the challenge and will be set the task of finding cover throughout this 1000m maiden. If he does, we could see a very strong debut by this son of Lonhro.
Next Best
Race 2 – 
#1 High Plateau (8)
4yo Gelding | T: James Cummings | J: Brad Rawiller (59kg)
Thursday quaddie tips for Kembla Grange races
Kembla Grange quadrella selections
Thursday, February 23, 2023
- 1-3-6-8
- 2-5-8-13
- 3-4-6-13
- 1-2-4-7
Investment: $256 for 100%