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The energy at Tulloch Lodge is reaching fever pitch as we gear up for one of the most exhilarating weekends on the racing calendar, beginning this afternoon with Bear On The Loose stepping out in the Listed Albury Gold Cup.

Emma Reeves aids us with programming and identifies who she thinks is the best placed horse each weekend.  Plagiarism, Saturday 28th March, Rosehill, Race 3:This colt has been racing consistently well through the Golden Slipper lead ups and a number of those horses went on to perform very well in the Slipper last week. This shapes as his most winnable race to date and, with little speed expected, he should be able to press forward from the wide barrier without too much trouble. The 1400 metres is an unknown for all of them, however Plagiarism’s dam broke her maiden impressively over this trip on a heavy track, so we are confident it is what he is looking for at this stage of his preparation. Third up, stepping up in trip and dropping back in grade is my ideal formula, so he is my pick this week.

WEDNESDAY 1st APRIL - WARWICK FARMRail Position: TrueMUMBAI MAHARANI, Race 2, 1300m, 2.20pm, R Bayliss, 55kgMumbai Maharani took a big step forward when finishing second at Kensington last week. She was no match for the impressive winner, but she’s an older mare and your filly showed a fantastic attitude to keep battling and seize second in the shadows of the post. She shaped as though she’ll be better again as she continues to stretch out over some ground, so whilst she’s sticking to 1300 metres here this race is back against her own age group which is always our preference and it’s a valuable race so we’re keen to roll the dice. She maps to settle just in behind the speed as she did last week, and she should be able to enjoy an even run in transit. She’s handled sting out of the ground in her two runs to date but a drying surface would probably suit her too, and if she’s able to keep improving we see no reason why she won’t be challenging at the finish.OSO SPIRITED, Race 3, 1600m, 2.55pm, R King, 55kgOso Spirited gave us all such a thrill when winning so dominantly first-up over course and distance. To concede race fitness on a heavy track and win as she did was extremely encouraging, so whilst this is a big step up in grade we’re confident she’s got the upside to rise to the challenge. She’s returned to the trials since that win to keep her fitness up to the mark, and her recent work has been excellent so we can’t fault her. Rachel got a terrific tune out of her last time so we’re delighted that she’s aboard again, and she’ll be positive from barrier 3 to try and repeat the front running tactics that were so successful last time. The first run outside of maiden grade is never easy and she’s taking on some considerably more seasoned horses, but it’s not the strongest field for the grade and with just six rivals we hope she’ll be very hard to catch once again.METALLIC CAT, Race 6, 1300m, 4.40pm, T Clark, 58kgMetallic Cat absolutely blew her opposition away with an incredibly dominant win at Kensington last week. It was fantastic to see her take such a big step forward from her encouraging debut performance, and she announced herself as a mare with a bright future. She sticks to 1300 metres here which probably suits her ideally at this stage of her career, and she’s very bright at home so whilst the seven-day backup is always a query, all the signs are positive that she will take it in her stride. Tim will be positive from barrier 9 to utilise her natural speed and roll across into a more favourable inside position, and from there she should be able to make her own luck from the front once again. The first run outside of maiden grade is never easy and she’s taking on some considerably more seasoned horses, but she’s open to further improvement and we hope she’ll be very hard to catch once again.