Weekend winners firm in for Brisbane winter features
There was action all across Australia on Saturday with notable winners coming out of Scone, Doomben, Caulfield and Morphetville.
One of the more impressive wins came at Caulfield in the opening event as imported stayer Raw Impulse made it three-from-three in Australia. Now with Darren Weir, the four-year-old breezed past a rating 90 field to score by 2.75 lengths and it has firmed in strongly for the upcoming Group 1 Doomben Cup next Saturday.
The son of Makfi is now on the second line of betting at $5.50 and the Melbourne spring carnival is on the agenda if it gets through the winter unscathed. Weir made comment about the Doomben Cup prior to winning on Saturday.
“I’d say probably not but if he happened to win easily on Saturday and have a real soft run you’d be pretty upset if you didn’t have him in it,” Weir said last Thursday.
As the dust settled, Weir is still indecisive about his next move for Raw Impulse which was backed into $1.26 at Sportsbet.com.au. Another option is the Listed WJ McKell Cup at Randwick on May 28.
“We’ll get him home now, get him down the beach and see how he is,” Weir said.
“He needs to take on some better opposition at some stage to see where he fits in. He’s had a beautiful preparation for taking on a better race.”
There are only 14 current selections available for betting on the $650,000 Doomben Cup this Saturday. Hauraki heads the market at $3.90, but we are expecting it to drift in the betting.
A week later, also at Doomben, Saturday’s Group 1 BTC Cup winner Malaguerra will be seeking more black type in the Group 1 Doomben 10000. The Lee and Anthony Freedman-trained runner turned around a sub-par performance last start to upset the field at $10.
The professional four-year-old looks likely to contest the Doomben 10000 which has a rich history of quality winners. The 1350m race has a winners list which includes Falvelon (x2), Bel Esprit, Takeover Target, Apache Cat (x2) and last year’s winner Boban.
It looks one of the better races of the Brisbane winter carnival with a stack of quality featured in the market. Azkadellia is the favourite at $4.20 and a host of mid-range chances follow. Ghisoni ($8), Black Heart Bart ($9) and Malaguerra ($9) are the only other runners in single figures.
In behind Malaguerra in the BTC Cup was Fell Swoop and Japonisme which have both been respected and remain each-way chances. Fell Swoop endured a tough run and punters should be prepared to forgive it at odds of $10 at Crownbet.com.au.
Japonisme was a touch disappointing after getting a prime run in transit. The Chris Waller-trained group one winner has drifted out to $11.
Two impressive weekend winners might clash in the Queensland Derby on June 11. Former New Zealand runner Mackintosh made easy work of it at Doomben in the Rough Habit Plate and Howard Be Thy Name gave Darren Weir more group 1 success in the South Australian Derby.
The majority of the money has come for Mackintosh at $2.80 with Sportsbet despite Jarrod McLean, representing Darren Weir, stating that Howard Be Thy Name will be aimed towards the staying three-year-old feature.
“He’ll go home and then on a plane to Queensland,” McLean said. “I think that’s Darren Weir’s plan, he still has a bit left in him.”
Punters might be looking at the form of Mackintosh which includes a win over subsequent New Zealand Derby winner Rangipo, which is a $10 chance for the Queensland Derby. Mackintosh made the running in front on Saturday and showed a good kick in the straight.
We can’t go past the Kiwi runners and backing both Mackintosh and Rangipo should get a return.