Saturday’s Ascot best bets & quaddie selections | May 6, 2023
| What | Ascot Races |
| Where | Ascot Racecourse – 71 Grandstand Rd, Ascot WA 6104 |
| When | Saturday, May 6, 2023 |
| First Race | 12:14pm AWST |
The last Saturday meeting to be held at the Ascot Racecourse will be held this weekend, before the Western Australian Turf Club hosts their winter race meetings at Belmont Racecourse. The W.A Turf Club will host a very competitive nine-race card, where we anticipate a Soft track, as there is a fair amount of rain forecast to fall on Saturday afternoon. The rail will be in the +2m position for the entire circuit, with racing set to kick off at 12:14pm AWST.
Best Bet at Ascot: Harmika
Our best bet on the Ascot program will come up in race three, where the Adam Durrant-trained Harmika will be second-up for her fifth racing preparation coming off the back of a very nice second when fresh in a 60+ Handicap over 1000m on April 22. This four-year-old mare didn’t come up last campaign, and she didn’t finish higher than seventh place in any of her four starts from August to November last year. However, with a slashing finish in the final 200m of her most recent start, this daughter of Rogano appears to have returned in much better form this time in. Clint Johnston-Porter has ridden this mare at 11 of her 13 starts, riding her victory at both of her wins and four of her five placings, including her last start runner-up finish. Johnston-Porter will let Harmika jump from her barrier and settle towards the back of the field and try to replicate his ride from last start but attempt to go one better.
Best Bet
Race 3 – 
#3 Harmika (5)
4yo Mare | T: Adam Durrant | J: Clint Johnston-Porter (56.5kg)
Next Best at Ascot: Arcadia Star
The second leg of the quaddie seems as though it is a race between the two three-year-olds at the bottom of the race book, Arcadia Star and Nod And Smile, with the former being the runner that we will be siding with from the Michael Grantham yard. The lone three-year-old filly in this race has been going well in her second racing preparation, finishing in the top four at all three starts, including a win and a second at her last two. This daughter of Pierro was doing her best work late at her most recent run, where she made up plenty of ground along the inside to go down by a length behind Never Sober in a One Metro Win Handicap over 1600m on April 22 at this track. Since her last start, two runners that she beat home have come out and won since, which indicates that the form out of her race is very strong and only fills us with more confidence. William Pike will stick with the filly and jump aboard for the third time. If he can get Arcadia Star into a midfield position from barrier seven, she will be flying home down the outside in the concluding stages of the 1800m event.
Next Best
Race 7 – 
#9 Arcadia Star (3)
3yo Filly | T: Michael Grantham | J: William Pike (54kg)
Best Value at Ascot: Black Spirit
Our value play of the day will be the Simon Miller-trained Black Spirit who is coming off the back of two wins in a row to starts this preparation, winning at Belmont over 1300m and Pinjarra over 1600m. This four-year-old mare is starting to develop a nice career record with four wins and four placings coming from her 11 career starts, and now that she is in form, she doesn’t look like she will be slowing down anytime soon. We are more than likely getting double figure odds with most online betting sites for this daughter of Blackfriars because she is dropping back in distance from 1600m to 1400m, but considering she is a front runner, she looks to be ideally placed with the aid of Kershaw Dhurun’s 1.5kg claim. After drawing barrier nine of 10, we should see Dhurun push forward and take up the lead or settle outside the likely leader in Call Again. If she can start to up the ante early and get rolling from the 600m mark, Black Spirit may get a few of the 1400m specialists out of their comfort zone and run them into the ground.
Best Value
Race 4 – 
#5 Black Spirit (9)
4yo Mare | T: Simon Miller | J: Kershaw Dhurun (a1.5) (58.5kg)
Ascot quaddie tips for Saturday
Ascot quadrella selections
Saturday, May 6, 2023
- 1-2-5-8
- 9-10
- 2-6-8
- 1-3-5-8-10
Investment: $120 for 100%