Gai's Tip Sheet
FRIDAY 4th APRIL – CRANBOURNERail Position: +9M EntireSHIVERMEPINK (Race 5, 7.15pm, 1300m, J Stanley (1.5kg), 57.5kg) Shivermepink has taken to life in Melbourne extremely well. She loves the smaller stable environment and the team there have really been able to home in on her since she arrived. She’s run two good races so far this preparation as she’s been fewer than two lengths from the winner on each occasion, but she does look like she wants further now so this step up to 1300 metres promises to suit her enormously. She should be able to travel more comfortably in the run over this longer trip, and her turn of foot will be even more effective as a result. Jett will be positive from his plum drawn in barrier 1 to try and control the race from the front, and if she can steal a couple of cheap sectionals mid-race we expect her to be very hard to run down. SATURDAY 5th APRIL – RANDWICKRail Position: TrueDOMINETTA (Race 2, 1.00pm, 2000m, T Clark, 59kg) Shivermepink has taken to life in Melbourne extremely well. She loves the smaller stable environment and the team there have really been able to home in on her since she arrived. She’s run two good races so far this preparation as she’s been fewer than two lengths from the winner on each occasion, but she does look like she wants further now so this step up to 1300 metres promises to suit her enormously. She should be able to travel more comfortably in the run over this longer trip, and her turn of foot will be even more effective as a result. Jett will be positive from his plum drawn in barrier 1 to try and control the race from the front, and if she can steal a couple of cheap sectionals mid-race we expect her to be very hard to run down.ALALCANCE (Race 3, 1.35pm, 2600m, T Clark, 56.5kg) Alalcance has taken all before her with two fantastic wins thus far this preparation. She absolutely annihilated her opposition when she stretched out to 2400 metres last time, and she really is a formidable stayer. As such, the step up to 2600 metres does nothing but fill us with confidence because we know she’ll relish every yard of it and she will be able to expose any kinks in her rivals’ armour. She’s drawn well in barrier 4 so Tim will do everything he can to try and adopt the front running tactics that have been so successful thus far, and if she puts her best foot forward it’s hard to see her getting beaten.SHANGRI LA SPRING (Race 4, 2.10pm, 1600m, T Clark, 56kg) Shangri La Spring is delighting us ahead of his second-up run. He excelled himself when resuming with a terrific third at Canberra, finding only two race fit rivals too strong for him in the run to the line. He’s thrived since then and he’s had a tick-over trial to keep his fitness up to the mark between runs, so he’s coming into this relatively fresh. He’ll relish the step up to the mile second-up so that’s a big tick, and he’s got wet track form so if it remains soft come race day we know he’ll handle it. The top two are very highly rated so they set the standard and will be tough to beat, but the rest of the field are very evenly matched so it should make for a competitive race and we expect him to take plenty of running down.BELLAZAINE (Race 6, 3.20pm, 1400m, T Clark, 54.5kg) Bellazaine ran a very honest race in the Golden Slipper. She had to work hard to get to the lead so it was a brave effort to finish just over 4 lengths from the winner. She’s come through the run in magnificent order and she really is a tough filly, so this has given us the confidence to press on and give her another run. Stretching out to 1400 metres is a step into the unknown but she’s such a relaxed filly that we think she’ll have no problem with it, and Tim will be positive from barrier 7 to settle her in a prominent position on or near the speed. It’s another ultra-competitive race and she’s the only filly in the lineup so it won’t be easy, but she deserves her chance in the field and hopefully her best is enough to see her featuring in the finish. ROYAL PATRONAGE (Race 8, 4.35pm, 1600m, T Clark, 54.5kg) Royal Patronage ran an extremely honest race in defeat in the George Ryder last time. He went down all guns blazing and was less than a length from the winner, who he meets again here 1kg better off at the weights, so he lost no admirers. He’s ticking along very nicely in between runs and we couldn’t be happier with how he’s training, so whilst he was victorious first-up we do think there’s more to come now that he’s deeper into his campaign and stretching out to the mile. The wide barrier is a bit of a blow but good horses can overcome these things, and he’ll have a bit of time to work forward from there and hopefully crossover into a more favourable inside position. It doesn’t get more competitive than the time-honoured Doncaster Mile and it takes an incredibly good horse to win it, but this has been his main aim all preparation and he’s right up there with the best of these so if he gets some luck in running he’ll give it a good shake. CLEAN ENERGY (Race 10, 5.50pm, 1200m, R Moore, 56kg) Clean Energy has taken the journey back to Randwick in her stride and she really is the most professional filly. Her work on Tuesday morning was nothing short of outstanding, so she’s full of confidence ahead of this outing. She sticks to 1200 metres here and whilst she needed every yard of it to prevail last time, she did overcome the track bias to come from behind and she also covered plenty of extra ground out wide. Randwick is a stiff 1200 metres which will suit her now that she’s third-up, and she has plenty of wet track form so if it remains soft come race day we know she’ll handle it. She’s the only horse to beat multiple Group 1 winner Lady Shenandoah so whilst she’s got top weight here she’s capable of defying it, and she’s the one to beat. SATURDAY 5th APRIL – CAULFIELDRail Position: +9M EntireJUST GLAMOUROUS (Race 3, 1.15pm, 1600m, J Stanley (2kg), 54.5kg) Just Glamourous has taken to life in Melbourne like a duck to water. She loves the quieter and more intimate stable environment, and she confirmed her wellbeing with a fantastic win in her recent tick over trial at Caulfield. That competitive experience galloping the Melbourne way was great practice for her ahead of race day, and she’s continued to thrive in her subsequent work. She’s stepping up in grade here so it’s slightly tougher than the midweeks she’s contested thus far, but she comes down in the weights as a result and Jett’s claim brings her even further down so she’s on a very attractive mark. Moreover, we know she’s a city-grade performer so we expect her to be capable of holding her own at this level, and with her impending sale, we only have a small window to get a Saturday city win on the board which will increase her value. She's absolutely thriving so it's important we grab this opportunity with both hands now. Jett will be positive from barrier 11 and roll forward from there to try and control the race for himself, and she’s stepping up to the mile which she should relish at this stage of the preparation. She’s got plenty going for her so we expect her to be hard to beat.MADRINA (Race 7, 3.35pm, 1200m, J Stanley (2kg), 54.5kg) Madrina has done well since her latest run at The Valley. She’s back in grade here to the same type of race she contested at Flemington two back where she finished a close fourth, so it’s a realistic level for her. Barrier 11 is a bit tricky so Jett will be positive from there to roll forward and get across into a better spot, and he takes a very valuable 2kg off her back which is not to be sniffed at. She’s a filly who needs everything to go her way, so fingers crossed the stars align as she’s more than capable of fighting out the finish.SATURDAY 5th APRIL – HAWKESBURYRail Position: +4m 1100m-450m, True RemainderNEPTUNITE (Race 3, 1.55pm, 1300m, L Beuzelin, 58.5kg) Neptunite is pleasing us ahead of his debut. His two trials this time in have been pass marks without setting the world alight, but he simply needs to get over a bit of ground to be seen to best effect so a 1050 metre trial is always going to be on the short side for him. 1300 metres is a good starting point for him and Hawkesbury is an expansive track with a long home straight which will probably suit him a lot better than Wyong would have last week, so the abandonment could have been a blessing in disguise. He’s drawn well in barrier 4 so Louis will be as positive as possible to try and get him travelling on or near the speed so that he can make his own luck from there. He’s going to improve with race experience and as he stretches out over further, but this is a suitable starting point for him and we hope to see him hitting the line strongly to get his career off to an encouraging start.QUEEN STRADA (Race 9, 5.40pm, 1600m, M Bourke (2kg), 57kg) Queen Strada hasn’t missed a beat since breaking her maiden at Kembla last month. She’s had a real spring in her step since then so she’s full of confidence, and she is holding her form extremely well at this stage of her preparation. This is her first foray outside of maiden grade which is never easy and she’s also taking on the boys which adds another dimension, so she needs to keep improving to be competitive. However, we think she has and Molly’s a very capable rider who takes a valuable 2kgs off her back which counts for a lot at this level. She’s drawn well in barrier 5 so she should be able to assume her usual front running position and make her own luck on the speed as she likes to do. She steps back up to the mile which should be within range at this stage of her preparation, and she’s very genuine so we’ve no doubt she’ll take plenty of catching.SUNDAY 6th APRIL – MORNINGTONRail Position: +8M Entire RITZYTWENTIES (Race 8, 5.05pm, 1500m, B Mertens, 60kg) Ritzytwenties returned to action with a fantastic effort at Kyneton. He looked like he had the race sewn up before the winner swooped late and pipped him on the line, but he lost little in defeat in what was his first run for well over a year. He’s come through the outing in wonderful order and he’s taken good improvement from it as you’d expect, so we couldn’t be happier with him. He’s stretching out in trip slightly to 1500 metres here which will suit him, and Beau got a good feel for him last time so it’s a positive that he retains the ride here. Beau will be positive from barrier 8 to try and settle in a prominent position as he did last time, and whilst this race has more depth to it he’s got significant upside second-up and we expect him to be right there at the finish.
