Punt Drunk: Racing Victoria pushing for eight-month Melham ban

Punt Drunk horse racing news & views

Wednesday, you beautiful bastard you! You always get us through those midweek blues and here you are, delivering the goods yet again. With two days until Christmas, we have plenty of racing to sink our teeth into today. Here are the latest headlines.

Melham set for extended Christmas holiday

Victorian jockey Ben Melham is set to learn his fate later this afternoon after pleading guilty to multiple betting charges laid against him. Racing Victoria is pushing for the star hoop to spend eight months on the sidelines, which wouldn’t be all too bad for Melham considering he’d be back in time for the Spring Carnival. However, it means there are still plenty of meetings for Melham to build a bank on if he hasn’t learnt his lesson. In all seriousness, though, don’t be stupid, Ben!

Three jockeys declared COVID clear

Three of the four riders stood down from racing over the weekend – Jake Noonan, Nash Rawiller and Craig Williams – have returned negative results from COVID-19 testing after returning from Sydney’s Northern Beaches prior to the outbreak. The fourth jockey, Luke Currie, is still awaiting his test results before he can get back into the pigskin. The latest outbreak will be a cause of concern for the Magic Millions carnival coming up in three weeks, especially considering there’s plenty of NSW-based jockeys who will be wanting to ride in the featured 2YO Classic and 3YO Guineas. We aren’t one to lay the boots in very often, but does this mean Melbourne gets some votes back as the best big city in the country?

That’s a way to break your maiden!

Matt Laurie looks to have a serious galloper on his hands in Duke Of Neworleans. The debutant at Geelong absolutely shat it in yesterday afternoon by an official margin of eight lengths as a $1.50 favourite. The gelding has the genetics to be a genuine star having come out of the same sire as the 2020 Golden Eagle winner, Collette. It’s made for plenty of discussion during the Punt Drunk Zoom call (typical 2020) as to whether we’ve seen a horse look like a star that quickly this year. The only other one who springs to mind was Berocha, who has since been sold to Hong Kong but not before the infamous text message declaring him the best thing since sliced bread.

Wednesday Racing Tips

Punt Drunk’s best bet for Wednesday, December 23

AscotRace 3 – Sunset Cruise (#5) $1.60 with Sportsbet
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