Welcome to our horse racing preview and betting tips for racing at on Thursday, October 8th.
There's five meetings across Australia on Thursday afternoon and The Horse is keen to bet at three of those venues. He's highlighted four selections throughout the course of the day. Check out his preview and betting tips below!
Horse Racing Tips: Thursday, October 8th
The first race at Armidale sees the short-priced favourite (2) Vanbari well placed and drawn. The Kris Lees trained gelding won by over two lengths last time—stretching out along the straight after a charmed run alongside the leader. He was doing some of the harder work on the outside in that race but still put them to the sword. If he runs up to that performance he will be very tough to beat. The only others in the market (and rightfully so) are (1) Kings Row and (4) True Bell who have both recently won their own races—however the former was categorically beaten by Vanbari last time they clashed. I can’t see how the tables can be turned here and expect Vanbari to get another victory.
Mornington Race 2 (Market)
Pretty keen on the chances of (1) Chilliwack first-up over the 1000 metres. If you glance at his prior form it doesn’t look too convincing—but looking deeper, a fifth behind Anders and a seventh behind Peltzer is nothing to be ashamed of. Last year he placed second behind Muntaseera. His times have been pretty good compared to this lot leading into this. The gate will not matter due to the small field—and I expect him to drop in behind the lead runners to save some fuel. Fortunately that’s the type of ride William Pike excels at. There is bound to be some interest in maiden runner (2) Hot Water after a couple of good jump outs - and that’s potentially where the main challenge will emerge. (5) Yulong Command is not the worst. If there are any more scratchings the odds for Chilliwack will tighten right up so I suggest taking them early. This really is a step back for Chilliwack and he should be winning this if the trainer wants to continue to make a legitimate challenge in the quality of races he’s already competed in.
Similar to my selection at Mornington we have a runner here that drops into provincial grade after several attempts at much better races. (9) Wild Irish has placed three times on Soft tracks and has not been disgraced behind the likes of Darling Diamond and Cadenabbia. A second to September Run from last preparation is pretty appealing. She gets a wide draw but Avdulla is no mug and will find a suitable spot in behind the pace—ideal over 1900 metres. And that is the question mark—going from 1400 to 1900 metres whereas some others in the race have already tested their lungs over the longer distances. The odds are a touch shorter than I would want and there is room for the price to drift when support for the other runners comes. The main danger is the Waller horse (1) Oconee but he has not beaten a whole lot coming into this. (6) Anakin Skywalker currently at $10 looks the value in the race.
(1) Falcon gets his chance here resuming after a solid break. The Peter & Paul Snowden colt has trialled coming into this race and I expect him to fire. Previously placed 2nd and 3nd (both on the Soft) there should be some genuine improvement here. The odds are a little skinny but that reflects the confidence in the market. When looking at his competition there are only a couple that look likely to challenge—that includes (8) Mollycoddle and (9) Faethm both coming from quality stables. It is worth noting that Falcon was down to race last Saturday against a better field than this, with the scratching most likely due to the wide draw whereas today he gets an inside gate. He should have the speed to hold a position on the fence and hopefully snatch this one.
