Walcha horse racing tips & quaddie picks | Friday, February 4
| What | Walcha Cup Day |
| Where | Walcha Racecourse – 140 Darjeeling Road, Walcha NSW 2354 |
| When | Friday, February 4, 2022 |
| First Race | 1:35pm AEDT |
| Feature Race | R7: Walcha Cup (1440m) |
| Watch Live | |
HorseBetting’s New South Wales form analyst brings you his best bets and quaddie numbers for Friday’s meeting at Walcha in NSW’s Northern Tablelands, along with picks in both the Walcha Cup and the Lightning Handicap. The track is rated a Good 3, the rail is in the true position for the entire course, and the first race is set to jump at 1:35pm AEDT.
Walcha Cup – Celestial Doll
In the Walcha Cup, Will Freedman and Matthew Palmer combine with the consistent Celestial Doll. Having won by 3.5 lengths at Glen Innes on January 8, the mare by Star Witness took that form to Parkes and won in track-record time under 57.5kg in Open company. Both of those wins came over 1400m, so the 1440m will be no issues for this four-time winner. Jumping from barrier seven, Celestial Doll is likely to land in the one-out, one-back position, which will give her the final say in the straight. Prior to her two back-to-back wins, she wasn’t beaten all that far at Rosehill and Randwick in Highway races, which is certainly strong from for this. The four-year-old drops down to 55kg from her last-start win and looks extremely hard to beat again.
Lightning Handicap – Rexx
Rexx is one galloper we have always had a bit of time for, especially in this neck of the woods. Three starts ago, the Ian Cook-trained six-year-old finished just over two lengths away from Edit in the Spring Cup at Tamworth over 1200m, before winning the Denman Cup at Muswellbrook on October 4. Rexx was then spelled before returning to the races at Grafton on January 23, where he was dominant in winning a Benchmark 86 over the 1000m by 0.63 lengths. Casey Waddell steered Rexx home to victory at the end of last campaign, and she hops back aboard here, utilising her 1.5kg claim to get him in with just 59.5kg. From barrier five, he is likely to push forward and find the front, which will make him very hard to run down over 1000m.
Best Bet at Walcha – Metal Bar
Jeremy Sylvester and Brooke Stower combine with Metal Bar in the second race of the day, where they look very hard to stop. The four-year-old gelding has been knocking on the door in his past few starts, having finished second in three of his last four outings. The son of No Nay Never hasn’t been beaten far in any of those three runs, and he was up against tougher opposition than this in all of them. This is a pretty average maiden over 1440m, so if he replicates what he has been doing in his past few starts, we expect him to win.
Next Best Bet – Keep Me Loyal
In the first leg of the quaddie, Luke Morgan saddles up four-year-old gelding Keep Me Loyal. The son of Exosphere was bred by Gerry Harvey and originally trained by Chris Waller, but he didn’t make it to the races until he debuted at Tamworth in October for Morgan. In his three starts to date, Keep Me Loyal has been the bridesmaid on two occasions, going down by half a length on debut before finding Tucson Valley too speedy over 1100m at Armidale on January 24. Now back to 1000m in weaker company, he should prove pretty hard to beat at start four. Jackson Searle did the piloting last time and on debut, with his 1.5kg claim proving advantageous. From what will be barrier eight after the emergencies come out, Keep Me Loyal should be able to find a forward spot and be able to break his maiden status.
Next Best Again – Dixie Can
Dixie Can resumes on Friday in what is a competitive Class 2, but nothing he has done to date suggests he can’t measure up. The Craig Martin-trained gelding has had six starts, winning at Tamworth in the second of those before justifying his even-money quote at Gunnedah in May. The five-year-old has had his runs spread apart, with his last start coming back in June when beating just the one runner home at Grafton over 1115m behind city winner Liza With A Zee. From barrier five, the son of Dixie Prospect is going to get a lovely run off the speed, which is going to give him every chance to resume as a winner. Brooke Stower will do the riding aboard Dixie Can for the first time on Friday, so that is a plus as she rides these country tracks well. It is a tough race, but he’s got the class to win first-up.
Friday quaddie tips for Walcha
| Walcha quadrella selections | |
|---|---|
| Leg 1: | 1-2-7 |
| Leg 2: | 1-2-3-8 |
| Leg 3: | 1-3-6 |
| Leg 4: | 2-5 |
| Investment: | $72 for 100% |