Moonee Valley race-by-race betting tips & odds | Saturday 13/3/21
| What | All Star Mile Race Day |
| Where | Moonee Valley Racing Club – 1 McPherson St, Moonee Ponds VIC 3039 |
| When | Saturday, March 13, 2021 |
| First Race | 12:15pm AEDT |
| Featured Race | Race 8: All Star Mile |
| Watch Live | |
Moonee Valley betting preview – March 13th
The $5 million All Star Mile meeting is finally here with nine races to be run and won at Moonee Valley on Saturday afternoon. The forecast is a wet one, so we expect to be starting on a Soft 5 with the potential of a further downgrade throughout the day. The rail is in the true position for the marquee meeting of the autumn for Moonee Valley, with the featured All Star Mile coming up in Race 8 at 4:40pm AEDT.
Race 1 – Grand Handicap Classic (2500m)
BEST VALUE
Kicking off the meeting is a BM80 over 2500m which should give us a good indication on how the track will play throughout the card. In a field where the market is struggling to find an outright favourite, we are happy to be with one at a price who is in winning form of late. Aurora’s Symphony is ideally drawn in barrier one and comes into the race on the back of three wins in a row, including a hard-fought run at Sandown when lugging around 60.5kg over 2400m. He meets the quinella horse from that race, Rising Archie, and maps to get a perfect run in transit despite giving away 6kg to his rival. Odds of $8.50 are available for the Symon Wilde-trained runner, who is one of the better plays on the card at a price.
Selections: 4-9-1-7
[rmOC_events_list event_ids=1363360_01]
Race 2 – St Albans Stakes (1200m)
A field of nine two-year olds will battle it out for the $150,000 on offer in the St Albans Stakes, and the market looks to have it down to two key chances coming off impressive wins last time out. Glitter ‘n’ Gold gave her rivals a massive start on debut at Ballarat on February 28 before rounding them up with thanks to an electric turn of foot and going on to win in soft fashion. The Danny O’Brien-trained filly gets the services of Craig Williams again, and if the track is playing fairly, she should be charging over the top of them late. Her main danger is Scorched Earth, who was the dominant winner in the Murray Bridge Magic Millions 2YO Classic on February 27 and should be several lengths in front of Glitter ‘n’ Gold, but due to the price differential we are happy to be with the latter.
Selections: 8-7-1-3
[rmOC_events_list event_ids=1363360_02]
Race 3 – Xtreme Freight Handicap (2040m)
BEST BET
Race 3 at Moonee Valley on Saturday marks the return of Persan, who was arguably the story of the racing year in 2020. Having gone from a Wangaratta maiden through to a fifth-place finish in the 2020 Melbourne Cup, he sure did put the racing world on notice with his rise to fame. If Ciaron Maher and David Eustace have him ready to go first up, Persan blitzes his rivals here. With most of this field struggling to win races of late, he should get this done on class alone. Matthew Cartwright’s 3kg claim makes this a no-brainer for best bet of the day.
Selections: 1-5-2-3
[rmOC_events_list event_ids=1363360_03]
Race 4 – Abell Stakes (1200m)
NEXT BEST
On the back of a 3.5-length defeat in the Oakleigh Plate on February 20, we are happy to be with Ancestry second up from a spell. He should appreciate getting back to 1200m, where he has won four times from seven starts. The forecasted rain won’t bother him at all, as he has won five times from seven goes with the sting out of the ground. From barrier seven under Michael Poy, he should lead this from barrier to box. There is genuine respect for Pandemic and Dollar For Dollar, but we are happy to be with the speed merchant that is Ancestry.
Selections: 3-7-1-4
[rmOC_events_list event_ids=1363360_04]
Race 5 – Alister Clark Stakes (2040m)
For the three-year-old runners, the 2040m Alister Clark Stakes could be the final time a few of these go around in Melbourne before heading up to Sydney for a crack at some of the big Group 1 races. The market support has come early for Cherry Tortoni, who is one of the shorter-priced favourites of the day on the back of a huge run in the Australian Guineas on February 27. However, we are happy to take him on with one at a much more backable price in Parure, who was impressive when winning the Group 2 Autumn Classic on February 20. The speed map suggests he will be a few lengths in front of Cherry Tortoni at the turn, and we expect the Dabernig & Hayes filly to hold that margin and continue her fine form.
Selections: 9-1-5-3
[rmOC_events_list event_ids=1363360_05]
Race 6 – Country Mile Series Final (1600m)
With a market that is $6 the field, the 2021 Country Mile Series Final is arguably the hardest race on the card to find a winner in. We have settled on Irish Playboy, who meets several of the horses he beat at Pakenham on February 25. The son of Fastnet Rock is a natural get-back-and-run-on type, so the wide barrier should be of no concern. He rates highly with Michael Poy in the saddle, but this is still a hard race to be confident in.
Selections: 3-12-2-1
[rmOC_events_list event_ids=1363360_06]
Race 7 – VOBIS Gold Reef (1600m)
The second leg of the Moonee Valley is for the VOBIS Gold horses only. Out of the field of 11, we are keen on Bellinger to continue his strong form on Saturday. Having absolutely smacked his rivals at Sandown on February 24, the son of Zoustar steps up in grade and looks more than capable of taking out a race like this. From barrier six under Mark Zahra, we expect the Dabernig & Hayes gelding to have the last crack at his rivals and savage the line late on. The clear danger will be from the Godolphin yard in Conceited, who was scratched from Flemington last weekend in a winnable race to be saved for this.
Selections: 7-2-10-4
[rmOC_events_list event_ids=1363360_07]
Race 8 – All Star Mile (1600m)
The 2021 All Star Mile looks to be a corker of a race with some 18 Group 1 victories between the 15 runners. Probabeel beat a fair few of these in the Futurity Stakes three weeks ago at Caulfield, and if the track does not deteriorate too much throughout the day, then she is the one we want to be with. Arcadia Queen is no doubt a superstar of the sport, but with a vet check required to be passed fit in the 24 hours leading up to the race, it is far from ideal preparation. Mr Quickie was superb back in third behind the two aforementioned runners in the Futurity Stakes and will only benefit from that run, while Sir Dragonet fans will be praying for a downpour akin to Cox Plate Day. And what about Russian Camelot? It is a race full of stars and could be the best edition since its inception.
Selections: 11-10-4-9
[rmOC_events_list event_ids=1363360_08]
Race 9 – Grand Handicap Sprint (1200m)
In the final leg of the Moonee Valley quaddie, we are hoping that Damien Oliver can keep Cordilla out of trouble. The mare ran into a brick wall here in the spring when getting no luck at a crucial time and was a certainty beaten. She then chased home Chaillot, who is set to go around in the Coolmore Classic in Sydney on Saturday, before breaking through for a deserved win at Cranbourne on October 11. Back from a four-month spell, we expect the Shamus Award mare to be too hard to hold out in the last.
Selections: 5-10-4-11
[rmOC_events_list event_ids=1363360_09]
Saturday quaddie tips for Moonee Valley
| Moonee Valley quadrella selections | |
|---|---|
| R6: | 1-2-3-12 |
| R7: | 2-7-10 |
| R8: | 4-9-10-11 |
| R9: | 4-5-10 |
| Investment | $144 for 100% |
[rmOC_events_list event_ids=1363360_06]
[rmOC_events_list event_ids=1363360_07]
[rmOC_events_list event_ids=1363360_08]
[rmOC_events_list event_ids=1363360_09]