Welcome to our horse racing preview and betting tips for racing on Friday, September 18th.
It's a very good Friday of racing, with a feature race program at Newcastle for Cup Day, along with some solid betting cards at Canberra and Kilcoy. Tim Geers has picked out his best bets for the day below, including two of the Group 3s at Newcastle.
Horse Racing Tips: Friday, September 18th
Canberra Race 4 (Market)
Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott have had three winners from six runners at Canberra so far this season and they line up with (13) Wholesome Delight here, to be ridden by Winona Costin. This horse has only had one trial at Gosford, which she won, and now comes straight to the races. Expect her to jump straight to the lead from barrier 2 and be very hard to run down in the straight. Watch the market with (8) Grand Lusitano who also trialled well and is on debut for Luke Pepper.
(13) Wholesome Delight
$2.70
Kilcoy Race 5 (Market)
(1) Drifter has had four top-two finishes from five starts since relocating to North Queensland, including three wins. Two of those wins have been here at Kilcoy. He resumes from a spell today and the only query is whether the 1000m will be a touch sharp for him, given all his wins have been over 1100m and 1200m. He should roll forward from the gate to sit right on speed though, and I think he’ll be very hard to beat. I’ll be saving on (7) Mithu from the Tony Sears stable. Always respect their runners and this mare comes off a first up win at the Gold Coast. Draws barrier 1 and looks the danger.
Kilcoy Race 8 (Market)
(5) Supervisor looks a solid each way bet at $8.50. He won by nearly 3L here at Kilcoy two starts ago in similar grade. He’s never missed a place from six starts at the track, he has four wins from six starts at the distance, and at the track and distance he has two wins and two 2nds from four goes. He was well beaten as a $21 pop at Ipswich last start but this is an easier race, he gets track conditions to suit and I think at those odds he’s a very good each way bet.
Newcastle Race 5 (Market)
The Group 3 Cameron Handicap is one of the day’s feature races at Newcastle. I’m in the corner of (6) Rock, who won this race last year. He’s had a few issues since then but he resumed in the G2 Tramway Stakes behind Dreamforce. He settled last on that occasion and was only beaten 1.5L, which was a good effort first up from a spell. He’s undefeated second up and from barrier 3 should be able to sit a touch closer in the run today. The stable have a very good record here at Newcastle and if this horse can return to his best form, he’ll be very hard to beat.
Newcastle Race 7 (Market)
The Newcastle card rounds out with the Group 3 Tibbie Stakes for the fillies and mares. (11) All Saints' Eve looks a great each way bet at $6.50 for John O’Shea and James McDonald. These two have a 30% strike rate in the past 12 months when they team up. This mare comes off a win at Randwick, where she ran down the in-form Vitesse. That was a big job given it was a heavy 10 that day and she was only first up from a spell. She should take significant improvement out of that and back onto a drier surface today should suit. She was only a head off (2) Asiago in a similar race last preparation, so she’s definitely capable at this level. Draws well and looks a terrific winning chance at a good price.
(11) All Saints' Eve
$6.50
