Our top five horse racing selections for Saturday, March 11
THERE are three group one races in store for punters this Saturday across Flemington and Rosehill where we have found our best tips for the day.
The Newmarket Handicap and Australian Cup are the features at Flemington and the Coolmore Classic is set to excite punters in Sydney. One of our bets of the day lines up in the Newmarket Handicap at Flemington where punters are getting great value for a class runner.
Our top five Saturday racing tips starts earlier in the day at Rosehill where a small but quality field has assembled for the Group 3 McCarten Stakes.
Dothraki – Rosehill Race 2
Dothraki might have been an expensive runner for punters this campaign, but we’re giving it another chance to show its best.
The Peter and Paul Snowden-trained gelding finished fourth behind subsequent group one winner Le Romain in the Southern Cross Stakes and it runs very well on this track.
It has finished in the money in five of its seven starts at Rosehill and the wet track won’t be a concern. It has good rain-affected track form and it won’t have to spend a penny from an inside barrier.
Take the +180 being offered at Ladbrokes.com.au and get your day off to a winning start.
Sweet Deal – Rosehill Race 4
Sweet Deal faces a slick field of juveniles in the Group 3 Magic Night Stakes, but there’s plenty to like about the filly.
Trained by John Thompson, the daughter of Casino Price finished third on debut behind Teaspoon before running second behind Frolic in the Inglis Classic despite running wide throughout.
To battled on after being caught wide on the speed showed tremendous courage and it should get a saloon passage from the inside barrier.
The $5 for the win is a solid price, but we’re liking the +100 to place at Sportsbet.com.au. It has a much greater chance of running in the top three and punters are getting even money for a quality two-year-old.
Antonio Giuseppe – Rosehill Race 5
The former New Zealand runner will feel right at home in the heavy conditions and Chris Waller has this gelding flying.
The four-year-old by Shocking scored a brilliant win fresh up at Rosehill where it remained unbeaten in four starts on this track. It also has an incredible strike rate on rain-affected ground with five starts for four wins and it’s quickly becoming one of the horses to watch this autumn.
It drops in weight after carrying 59kg to victory last start and although it’s facing a tougher field here, it won’t feel threatened coming up against the likes of Who Shot Thebarman and Lasqueti Spirit which don’t possess great winning records.
It’s short at -111.11 with Palmerbet.com.au, but that is a price worth locking in.
I Am A Star – Flemington Race 5
There is a clear class runner in this field and it’s I Am A Star. The Shane Nichols-trained filly drops back after finishing off well in the Group 1 Oakleigh Plate and it looks well-suited to this race.
The three-year-old by I Am Invincible is unbeaten in two starts at Flemington and it should get every chance to jump with them this time from barrier four.
Craig Williams is suspended which isn’t great, but group one winner Dean Yendall takes over the riding duties and he should be able to get the job done.
+100 at CrownBet.com.au is a fair price for a filly which has above average potential.
Extreme Choice – Flemington Race 7
Punters can get +400 at Sportsbet for Extreme Choice and that’s good value in our books. We respect the talent of the likes of Spieth and Star Turn, but Extreme Choice has a lethal turn-of-foot and winning experience at this level.
The Mick Price-trained colt won the Blue Diamond Stakes and the Moir Stakes last preparation and it faces many runners which have yet to crack the big time.
Not everything went right in the Oakleigh Plate last start when it got too far back before making a big late run, but expect Joao Moreira to be positive from an outside barrier and look for the classy colt to rattled home late.
Spieth has drawn the inside barrier and traffic issues could be a problem, whereas Extreme Choice will have clear air in the best part of the track.