Gai's Tip Sheet
SATURDAY 28th JUNE – NEWCASTLERail Position: +9M Entire ALWAYS SHINING (Race 1, 11.55am, 1400m, L Beuzelin, 59kg) Always Shining is pleasing us ahead of his first start this preparation. He did well to get two runs under his belt as a two year old this time last year, but he was just too weak to do himself justice. He’s a year older now and whilst he’s still not the finished article, he’s certainly more furnished now. He took good improvement from his first trial to finish a close fifth in his latest one, and he’s continued to go the right way since then. 1400 metres is a good starting point for him as he’s a horse who’s going to get over ground in time, and he’d be outpaced over anything shorter. We’ve put the blinkers on to ensure he’s nice and focused, and Louis will be positive from barrier 10 to try and get him rolling along on or near the speed. The expansive track at Newcastle will give him every opportunity to go through his gears and hit topflight, so hopefully he can hit the line strongly to get his preparation off to an encouraging start. FRANKIE'S BOY (Race 4, 1.40pm, 1300m, L Beuzelin, 57kg)Frankie’s Boy is delighting us ahead of his first start. He’s had three trials so he’s as fit as we can get him, and given he’s going to thrive over further in time he should relish 1300 metres first-up on an expansive track like Newcastle. He’s drawn to do no work in barrier 1, so Louis will let him roll forward from there so that he can hopefully dictate the race to suit himself and get into a comfortable rhythm in the middle stages of the contest. He’s conceding race experience to his main dangers and he’s only going to improve with experience, but he’s forward enough to do himself justice and we expect him to run a big race. WAR STAR (Race 7, 3.35pm, 1200m, L Beuzelin, 59kg)War Star is delighting us ahead of his reappearance. His two trials have been good, and they’ve served their purpose in getting him fit. He’ll be well-suited by 1200 metres first-up at this expansive track, and he’s drawn well in barrier 2 so Louis will be positive from there to get him rolling along on or near the speed. His best form last preparation was over a mile, so he’ll certainly improve as he gets deeper into his preparation but he’s forward enough to do himself justice and we expect him to be in it for a long way. SATURDAY 28th JUNE – ROSEHILLRail Position: +6M EntireSOLDIER OF ROME (Race 3, 12.10pm, 1400m, M Bourke (2kg), 62.5kg)Soldier Of Rome is thriving ahead of his first-up run. He had a great time of things last preparation, winning twice in town and rounding out his campaign with a brave effort in a Benchmark 88 Handicap where he was by no means disgraced. He’s enjoyed a well-deserved break since then, and he is firing on all cylinders at home ahead of his return. Molly’s a talented and capable apprentice who won on him last preparation and she takes a valuable 2kg off his back which brings him down to a more reasonable 60.5kg. 1400 metres is short of what will end up being his optimum trip given he won over 1900 metres in December, but it’s a suitable starting point and he should have enough speed in his legs at the outset of his campaign to cope with this distance. He’s drawn to the outside in barrier 10, so if he doesn’t have the early speed to settle in a handy spot Molly will likely have to slot in and ride him for a bit of luck. This is very much a launchpad for the rest of his campaign and we don’t expect him to be peaking until he stretches out to a mile and beyond, but he’s in great shape and he’s more than capable of giving this a good shake en route to bigger and better things down the line.SLY BOOTS (Race 3, 12.10pm, 1400m, Z Wadick (2kg), 59kg)Sly Boots is delighting us ahead of his return. His two trials have served their purpose in getting him fit, and he simply needs to get over some ground to be effective. As such, 1400 metres is the perfect starting point for him and he won over this distance at Warwick Farm in December which adds confidence. He was also beaten less than a length in this same grade of race in January, so we know he’s up to this level. He’s drawn well in barrier 2 but he doesn’t typically show enough early dash to lead, but Zac will still try and get him into a handy position so that he’s not giving away too much ground. The expansive track and drying surface which is rated a Soft 5 at the time of writing will also play to his strengths, so with a bit of luck in running he should be hitting the line strongly to get his preparation off to an exciting start. GANBARE (Race 8, 3.15pm, 1800m, J McMurray (3kg), 61kg)Ganbare was a bit plain first-up, as with three trials under his belt we thought he’d relish the 1500 metres but he struggled to land much of a blow. Let’s hope he just needed the run more than we thought, as he has trimmed up nicely with the outing under his belt so he will be fitter here. The step up to 1800 metres is another positive, and he should be able to sit closer to the speed as a result so Jace will be positive from barrier 12 to try and roll forward and get across into a better position. It’s a competitive enough race but his talented rider takes a valuable 3kg off his back which essentially brings him down to a rating of 74, so if he can’t be competitive under these conditions we’ll be very disappointed. Fingers crossed he heeds our warning and is fighting out the finish for you.TOWNSEND (Race 9, 3.50pm, 2000m, W Costin, 53kg)Townsend is on somewhat a recovery mission after a disappointing effort at Flemington last time. We’ve taken the blinkers off here as whilst he’s raced well in them previously, this time in he’s just been too keen in them so hopefully this has the desired effect and encourages him to relax from the outset. Winona will let him roll forward from his lovely barrier in 2 and it’s likely that he’ll have the early speed to get to the front and make his own luck from there. He showed us in the summer that he’s more than up to this grade of race, so if he recaptures his best form we see no reason why he won’t take plenty of catching. ELAMAZ (Race 9, 3.50pm, 2000m, J Parr, 56.5kg)We couldn’t be more excited to see Elamaz make his Australian debut this weekend. He won four of his seven races in Europe, and finished second in the other three, so he has a fantastically consistent record. All bar one of his races have been over a mile, so whilst 2000 metres is a step into the unknown from what we’ve seen in his trackwork and trials we think he’ll relish it and these European imports nearly always need to get over ground here to be effective. Josh won’t rush him from barrier 6, and he’ll let him land where he’s comfortable in the run with his focus being on getting him to relax and travel in a comfortable rhythm. He has experience on both dry and soft tracks so he should handle the conditions come Saturday, and whilst he’s kicking off in a competitive race he’s ticking all the right boxes and we see no reason why he won’t be right there at the finish.SATURDAY 28th JUNE – EAGLE FARMRail Position: +6M EntireDUKE OF ARAKIS (Race 4, 1.28pm, 1400m, R Bayliss, 57kg)Duke Of Arrakis hasn’t missed a beat since his wonderful win at Kensington. He’s taken the journey to Queensland in his stride and settled in very well at Eagle Farm, and his easy-going temperament is going to take him a long way. His debut win couldn’t have been more impressive, as he beat some older horses and the third placed horse Stardeel came out and won very easily at Kensington on Wednesday which gives the form a bit of a boost. The further he went the better he was, so the step up to 1400 metres promises to suit him and he should be able to get into a lovely position from barrier 5 and travel comfortably in the middle stages of the contest. The track’s rated a Soft 5 at the time of acceptances and he handled a similar surface well last time, so whilst he’s taking on some more seasoned peers with good form to their names he’s open to huge improvement on only his second career start and we expect him to rise to the challenge and be extremely competitive.SIR LUCAN (Race 5, 2.07pm, 2400m, T Clark, 56.5kg)Sir Lucan gave us all a big thrill when winning the Listed Winter Cup for a second successive year. It was great to see there’s still life in the old boy yet, and he’s come through it in brilliant order. He’s taken the journey to Queensland in his stride, and he’s yet to race in the Sunshine State since arriving from the U.K. so the change of scene could do him the world of good as he’s a horse who needs to be kept stimulated and interested. Adam got a great tune out of him last time and he seems to enjoy being ridden closer to the speed, so Tim will try to emulate those tactics and get him bowling along where he’s comfortable. There’s only seven runners so it could become a bit of a tactical affair, but if things go his way and he gets out of bed on the right side then he’s more than capable of adding another win to his collection. OSMOSE (Race 6, 2.47pm, 2100m, R Bayliss, 57.5kg)Osmose was disappointing last weekend. However, we’re inclined to be forgiving of her effort as she was caught a bit wide in the run and did plenty of work in the result. Prior to that she’d run two terrific races, and she had plenty of these mares in behind her on those occasions. We’re also mindful of the fact that she was stretching out from 1600-2150 metres last time, and might’ve just needed it. As such, she should be fitter again with last week’s run under her belt and ready for the challenge. She’s drawn a tricky gate in 11, so Regan will have to decide quickly whether to press forward and get across into a better position or take a sit depending on how she lands in the run and what the speed to her inside is like. If she can slot in and enjoy an economical run in transit, then she’s more than capable of bouncing back and giving this a good shake.PULCHRITUDINOUS (Race 6, 2.47pm, 2100m, T Clark, 59.5kg)Pulchritudinous is delighting us ahead of this outing. She was terrific when winning first-up and she was unlucky when enduring a bit of a torrid run in transit over 1600 metres at this track last time. With two runs under her belt, she’s now ready to stretch out to 2100 metres and given her best form is in the 2000-2400 metres, albeit in three year old company, we expect it to bring about significant improvement. Tim will roll forward from barrier 7 and let her land where she’s comfortable in the run, and if she can enjoy a smooth run in transit we expect her to be right there at the finish.THE NOVELIST (Race 9, 4.35pm, 1200m, R Bayliss, 54.5kg)The Novelist has taken the journey to Queensland in his stride and he’s thoroughly enjoying his change of scene in the Sunshine State. He needs to bounce back from an uncharacteristically disappointing run last time, but he had excuses on that occasion and he had run an almighty race when resuming at Scone so it’s not unusual for horses to then race slightly flat second-up. The track at Eagle Farm is rated a Soft 5 at the time of writing which he’ll prefer, so fingers crossed the rain stays away and it remains this way or even gets an upgrade prior to his race as he is better on a firmer deck. Regan knows him well so he’ll try and go forward from barrier 9 to settle on or near the speed, but he’ll be doing well to lead up Hidden Wealth. However, he doesn’t need to lead to be competitive and he’ll relish stretching back out to 1200 metres, so fingers crossed for some luck in running as he’s more than capable of bouncing back and running a big race.
