Matt Markham has been through the form guide and speed maps and has provided his race analysis and betting strategy for each of the seven races at the Alexandra Park Harness meeting on Friday 18 September below:
He took his time to break the maiden status, but the version of Sammy Lincoln (5) we saw winning last week was the true version of him. Big and bold and devastating. Often horses who take a while to break through end up being those who can string them together quickly and he’s just that type of horse. No surprise to see him win again.
Selections: 5-2-7-8-1
| 5. Sammy Lincoln (5) 42221 |
Don’t think there is much doubt that Paramount Spur (10) is the best horse in this race by some distance, but he’s still very much the raw product version. Will get better and better with racing but even now he’s good enough to get the better of this field. A good beginning will have him well in play.
Selections: 10-4-9-5-8
| 10. Paramount Spur (10) 2d212 |
Impressive stuff from Lucky Luka (8) to win the last three in a row and looks a 2YO who is going to be competitive when the big races roll around. Wide draw here, but a small field helps and if able to get into the race at the right time has the class to make it four-from-four.
Selections: 8-6-1-7-3
| 8. Lucky Luka (8) 2111 |
It took a pretty smart performance to get the better of Nazare (2) here last time out and he’s still a horse on the way up so expect him to be even better tonight. Grabs a sweet draw advantage on key rivals and likely to look to use it too. No reason why he can’t grab another win here.
Selections: 2-8-5-7-1
| 2. Nazare (2) 91×12 |
It wasn’t much of a first up run with an early gallop, but at least Belle Neige (6) has been to the races and has a little more fitness on some of her key rivals tonight. A quick beginning, like she is capable of, here and she can land close to the speed and be a major player at a very nice price.
Selections: 6-9-7-5-3
| 6. Belle Neige (6) 187×0 |
Dug deep to get the win here a couple of weeks ago and Daisy Bay (3) will have only benefited from that run too. She holds all the cards here with her early gate speed and if she buzzes to the front and gets to control things from there then she’ll be hard to run down over the 2200m.
Selections: 3-6-9-4-11
| 3. Daisy Bay (3) 11×41 |
Great to see Merlin (6) back on track and with a sharp trial under his belt he looks ready to rock and roll tonight. Operates well fresh and with only a small field of rivals is never going to be too far off them. Stalking or on the speed turning in, he’s the one to beat.
Selections: 6-4-5-2-3
| 6. Merlin (6) 3230x |
