Welcome to our horse racing preview and betting tips for racing at Moonee Valley on Wednesday, January 1st.
There's eight races on today's card and we'll be looking to start the New Year with a bang. Check out our best bets from today's card below!
Flemington Racing Tips: Wednesday, January 1st
The first of my best bets comes up in Race 2 with (5) Rocking Eagle. His win at Moonee Valley last start almost had to be seen to be believed. He came from well back in the field with 59.5kg on his back and motored home in the last 150m or so to get up in the final stride. It's not easy to do that at The Valley, especially not with that weight on his back. He's only had one blip in his four-start career, which is when he looked to have choked down at Ballarat two starts back. They fixed that by applying the tongue tie last start, and other than that poor run, his other three have been very good. Barrier 1 down the straight for the first time is a little concern but he'll carry just 52kg today and he looks a horse with a bit of class, so I'll stick with him to win again.
Race 4 - Standish Hcp (Market)
The first of the day's features is the G3 Standish Handicap. I'm very keen to take on (2) Snitzkraft here, who is high up in the market a $4.20. He won well first up but his second up record is poor, with just one placing from four starts. I qutie often find Phillip Stokes runners struggle to transform Pakenham form into city form, so I'll happily leave him out today. (7) Bold Star goes on top for me. He's been a different horse since switching stables to Gordon Richards. His two wins this preparation have both been outstanding and I think he can go on with it again today. He drops to the minimum 54kg today, he'll be out the back of the field but look for him to charge over the top late. (4) Halvorsen is the one he'll have to beat, clearly, but barrier 1 is a little concern down the straight. (1) Spirit Of Valour is the smokey at double figure odds, dropping from Group 1 company.
Race 7 - Bagot Hcp (Market)
One of the day's feature races is the Listed Bagot Handicap. I'm very happy to completely bin the form out of the Sandown Cup, which rules out (1) Azuro and (5) Wall Of Fire for me. The $7.50 that was available for (6) High Bridge looked incredible and it's no surprise to see him backed into $4.80 already. He's had two runs back this campaign, both in Sydney, and both have indicated he's back to his best this time in. First up he ran the best final 800m of the race when beaten 2.2L after settling last, and last start he improved to run 2nd in the Listed Christmas Cup. He handles this distance with no problems, he's got two wins from four starts when third up and he gets in on the minimum 54kg here. I think he's extremely hard to beat. (3) Secret Blaze is the biggest danger to him, having won three from five this prep, including a strong victory over 2500m here last start. (4) Etah James beat Secret Blaze in the Pakenham Cup last start and can be included, though she's previously struggled here at Flemington.
