Horse Racing

Tauranga hosts an eight-race program on Saturday, with the track rated a Heavy10 and the rail out 6m. Torrential rain through the week has taken its toll on the surface, and a very testing track is expected for the duration of the card. Selections for each of the eight races below: Tauranga Race 1 4 Girlzgirlzgirlz Girlzgirlzgirlz (#4) comes into this at just her second career start after a fair debut at this course/distance, where she looked a touch flat before working home nicely late into 4th. She should improve with that run under her belt, and staying at 1200m on…

Tattersall’s Tiara Day is set down for Eagle Farm this Saturday as the curtain comes down on another successful Ladbrokes Stradbroke Season. The $700,000 Tattersall’s Tiara is the feature event on the nine-race program, with the fillies and mares contest again holding its place as the final Australian Group 1 of the racing season. The card has strong depth beyond the headline race, with six black-type events across the meeting, while the Ladbrokes Battle of the Bush Final gives Queensland’s country gallopers their opportunity to compete for a significant prize in town. Below is my race-by-race assessment of the Eagle…

Riccarton Synthetic hosts an eight-race program on Thursday. Selections for each of the eight races below: Riccarton Synthetic Race 3 Enchanted Delight Enchanted Delight (#3) resumes here, last sighted finishing down the track at Kurow where she pulled up with excuses that day. She heads here without a trial under her belt but has typically performed well fresh in the past. Her career best run came at this course/distance, where she surged home from the back of the field for 2nd. She should appreciate the small field and looks capable of running well in a fresh state.  Riccarton Park Synthetic…

The Wednesday meeting at Doomben contains eight races, and both tempo and the likely track pattern appear important considerations. With the rail positioned 11 metres out for the entire course, runners capable of taking up forward positions and maintaining their place near the speed should be advantaged. The track was listed as a Soft 6 on Monday, although the forecast for fine weather provides some chance of improvement before race day. There should still be enough give in the surface to keep soft-track credentials relevant. On that basis, horses that can map positively and secure economical on-speed runs look the…

Hong Kong form expert Luke Middlebrook provides his thoughts on every race at the Hong Kong meeting at Happy Valley on Wednesday 24 June. Happy Valley Race 1 8 Perfect Pairing Open Race time:  8 Perfect Pairing made up a stack of late ground against an on-pace race shape when fourth last start. It was a nice run and he has been knocking on the door in recent starts.  Selections: 8-3-2-6  Bet Now Happy Valley Race 2 11 Oriental Surprise Open Race time:  11 Oriental Surprise comes into a low draw for the first time in four starts, and that is a major boost,…