Welcome to our preview and horse racing betting tips for racing at Canterbury on Wednesday, July 24th.
There's seven races on today's card, with the track rated a Soft 5 and the rail in the 6m position.
We've previewed the entire meeting, with tips and comments for every race below.
Canterbury Racing Tips: Wednesday, July 24th
Best Bet: Race 5 - (2) Black Magnum
Best Value Bet: Race 6 - (1) Kool Vinnie
Race 1
(1) Coco Cuber has only been to the trials once and he was very impressive, winning by 4L. He comes straight to the races now and he looks very tough to beat on debut. He should roll forward from barrier 8 to take up a position on the speed, which should be an advantage at Canterbury with the rail out 6m. (3) Deterge didn't do much in his first prep but it wouldn't shock me to see him improve first up from a spell today. They usually do from this stable. (6) Jailbreak returns as a gelding today. He's so far failed to deliver after showing some promise at the trials, but if he puts it all together on race day he can win. (10) Savoury has been well-backed on debut outside of the favourite.
Race 2
Tricky race. (2) Bound To Win has trialled well leading into her debut today. Typically, when they trial that well from this stable they tend to take it into race day. I'd expect her to roll forward from barrier 8 and prove hard to get past. (3) Enamour was caught four-wide the trip on debut at Newcastle. She won't have that problem today from barrier 1. She should kick up to sit in the first four and her trials have all been good, so expect a good run from her. (11) Wandonna has the best exposed form in the race, with her only run resulting in a 3rd placing behind subsequent Group 1 winner Castelvecchio. The tricky thing for her today is drawing barrier 11 with the rail out 6m at Canterbury. She'll find herself toward the back of the field so she might leave herself a bit too much to do. With that said, I'm going to stick with the strength of her form and back her each way here.
Race 3
Difficult race to assess with plenty of these coming off provincial races. (10) Light Exceed should be able to lead this fairly comfortable and with only 53.5kg on her back she might be able to steal the race from the front. She comes off a win at Kembla which typically isn't form I look for in metro class, but she's found a winnable race and gets everything to suit. (9) Emerald Earth will be at the other end of the field but she's racing well in provincial grade. She produced the best 800-200m split in defeat two starts ago and recorded the best final 600m when winning last start. (8) Black And Tan is knocking on the door for another win but she'll be way back in the field too and struggles to get her head in front very often. (2) I'm Pretty Strong drops in grade third up today but so far the American imports for Waller have failed to land a blow. (2) Missybeel is another that will get a long way back and although she's coming into form, she'll find it tough from barrier 10 at Canterbury.
(10) Light Exceed E/W
$7.50
Race 4
(8) Seeingisbelieving has had six starts this preparation and hasn't finished out of the top two in any of them. Steps up in grade today but draws well and should be competitive. (5) Semper Fidelis drops in grade and gets back to a track and distance he goes well at. He's drawn the inside so should be able to settle right up on the speed. At $9.00 he looks one of the value plays in the race. (7) Ivy's Court is another that likes this track and distance with two wins from three starts. Also drawn well and getting back onto a slightly firmer surface will help.
Value: (5) Semper Fidelis $9.00
(8) Seeingisbelieving
$3.20
Race 5
I'm not sure how (2) Black Magnum can lose this. He was ultra-impressive winning first up by 3.5L at Warwick Farm. That followed his good form at the trials and he finds another very winnable race today. He's won three from five at the distance and he won second up last preparation so provided the 3kg claimer gives him a good ride from barrier 11, he should be very hard to hold out. (12) Transmitter looks the obvious danger. He hasn't had a lot of luck this preparation but Bowman takes the ride today from a good barrier and his form at Canterbury in the past has been solid.
Race 6
Two I'm mainly interested in here. Sticking with the strength of the Haut Brion Her form. (11) Riviera finished 3.6L behind her first up here at Canterbury. The 2nd horse then came out and won last week and Haut Brion Her came out on Saturday and trotted in again. The query is it's been a while between drinks for Riviera but she gets her chance today. (1) Kool Vinnie could be the each way bet of the day at $12. That looks well over the odds. He was disappointing first up in Saturday grade on heavy ground at Rosehill but it was a good form race and he'll find this much easier. Drops back to midweek grade, gets onto a firmer surface and he probably should have gone close to winning second up last prep. Just needs a good ride. (7) Vinnie Power next best.
Value: (1) Kool Vinnie $12
Race 7
Three chances to focus on here. (8) Weekend Affair gets one final chance with me today, because he gets a big jockey change with Tim Clark replacing Jess Taylor. The horse is going really well this prep but he needs absolutely everything to go his way to win. He looked disappointing last start but he actually recorded the best final 600m of the race in defeat. Drawn well, if he can settle a touch closer to the speed, he'll be fighting out the finish. (6) Knowitall Jack should improve significantly from his first up run and he drops 5kg in the weights. He should prove hard to beat, while (4) Zoffany's Lad looks a touch of value at $11. He goes well on this type of ground and has a good record at the distance. Backing Weekend Affair and saving on the other two.
