Our top five racing tips at Rosehill and Mornington, March 25
IT’S another great weekend of racing as the Sydney autumn carnival continues with the Group 1 BMW and Vinery Stud Stakes.
There’s also the standalone Mornington Cup meeting in Victoria which presents many good betting opportunities for punters and we have picked out our best five tips for the action this Saturday.
Bookmakers are offering some great value for both venues this Saturday, but punters can get great odds at Ladbrokes.com.au which is offering boosted odds on the feature races.
Astoria – Rosehill Race 1
This appears to be a wide open betting affair, but Astoria stands out as the best winning chance and punters are getting great odds.
The John O’Shea-trained colt was all the rage at a midweek Warwick Farm meeting when it scored an impressive 3.5-length victory on a heavy track.
Winning margins on wet tracks are often misguided, but conditions are going to be similar to what it faces on Saturday and having that experience under its belt will help.
Drawing barrier 14 won’t be a problem as they might course wide and jockey James Doyle will be all too familiar with riding in these conditions.
It’s currently paying +320 at Sportsbet.com.au which we’re expecting to shorten over the next 24 hours.
Spectroscope – Rosehill Race 4
Sticking with the Godolphin runners here and Spectroscope is a talented import which gave them a galloping lesson last start.
The former French four-year-old scored a powerful one-length win at Rosehill on March 11 and punters know it can handle the rain-affected tracks.
French form is superior in the middle distance ranks in Australia and we would be surprised if it didn’t show its best again on Saturday.
This will be a harder task as it faces some tried and tested wet trackers, but it drops right down in weight to 53kg with Corey Brown in the saddle and that will give it every chance to show that good turn-of-foot.
Punters are getting +260 at Sportsbet.com.au which is a fair price given the quality of the field.
Eshtiraak – Mornington Race 4
Lindsay Park Racing lines up Eshtiraak in the Fibretrack Sires’ at Mornington and punters should forget about its most recent effort.
The two-year-old missed the jump in the VRC Sires’ and did well to finish under three lengths from the winner. We’re not sure what that run would have taken out of the colt, but it faces a similar field here so most of them are in the same boat.
Its three wins prior to that run were top quality and there’s no denying its ability. The son of Street Cry scored a six length win at Pakenham to break maiden grades before winning back-to-back races at Sandown.
It should get every chance from barrier five and we think the +150 at CrownBet.com.au is a value price for a talented colt which is rising through the grades.
Prussian Vixen – Mornington Race 6
Bookmakers are offering double figures for a talented mare which is coming off a quality win.
Prussian Vixen scored a tough win in the Bellmaine Stakes at Caulfield last start when beating Silent Sedition and that form has been well and truly franked since.
The Michael Mehegan-trained four-year-old runs here on its home track at Mornington where it has won two from three starts and it’s a four-time winner at this distance.
Its trainer is confident of a good effort and he believes it could take on much harder company later in the autumn. Those are positive signs going forward and there’s no reason why it couldn’t run well at this level.
The $12 for the win is great odds, but take the +300 to place at Bet365.com for a more conservative approach.
The Gold Trail – Mornington Race 7
The Gold Trail is our bet of the day at Mornington and we’re very keen on the European raider.
The six-year-old has been flown over by top trainer Charlie Appleby who dominated throughout the Melbourne spring carnival and this runner looks to have more impressive form entering Australia.
The son of Teofilo has won its last two starts by a combined margin of six lengths and even moderate form in Europe is good enough for our staying races, so winning form stands out on the page.
It’s used to carrying big weights so the 58.5kg won’t be an issue at all and it’s a five-time winner at this distance.
Craig Williams is in the saddle and we confident suggest taking the +140 at Ladbrokes.com.au as a big effort is expected against only a moderate staying field.