Nine races will be run and won this Saturday at Flemington.
The Listed A.R. Creswick Stakes is the feature between the three-year-olds, and our best bets for the entire meeting can be found below.
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Race 1 – Murray Cox Handicap (2540m)
Port Guillaume flashed home late at Caulfield first-up and has been kept fresh for this.
He worked home well under hard riding on the widest part of the track, and I think he’ll find this a touch easier now back in grade and out to a more suitable distance.
The five-year-old out of the Lindsay Park camp has always been a good fresh horse and Michael Dee’s form over the last week is tough to fault.
Race 2 – Country Racing Victoria Handicap (1000m)
Back to 1000m looks ideal for Diamonds at this stage of her prep.
The Chris Bieg-trained mare bolted in to score by half a length over 100m further a couple of weeks ago thanks to a peach of a ride from Josh Richards.
She’s placed in three of her four starts over this trip in the past and she’ll be rock-hard fit now with three runs under her belt.
Race 3 – Rod Johnson Handicap (1420m)
Not a race I’m overly keen to dive into, but I will have something on Anphina despite the short odds.
The daughter of Rebel Dane did everything bar win over this trip nearly a month ago where she was held up at a crucial time down the straight.
The winner of that race, Brosnan, has since gone on to place in the J.J. Atkins at Eagle Farm last week, so the form reads nicely with a gap between runs. Linda Meech retaining the ride is also a plus.
Race 4 – Bruce Gadsden Handicap (1420m)
Hard to find a reason why Quintello can’t win.
Ciaron Maher and Dave Eustace’s lightly-raced mare has ticked all the boxes so far during her short career, winning four of her nine starts and placing on four other occasions.
She’s had to deal with heavy tracks in her last two starts in Sydney, most recently at Rosehill where she just found one better right on the line over a touch further.
Back from a freshen-up and on a much firmer deck, she’ll take beating if Matthew Cartwright can offset the awkward gate early.
Race 5 – Listed A.R. Creswick Stakes (1200m)
Sticking with Passive Aggressive in the feature.
Grahame Begg’s unbeaten three-year-old continues to progress through the grades, most recently winning a similar race at Flemington over a touch shorter.
She kicked clear at the 200m mark to win by over a length that day, and appeared to have plenty left in the tank when crossing the line. This is obviously tougher, but the form from that previous run also stacks up with second place-getter Dragonstone going on to win a Stakes race at Randwick last week.
Race 6 – Brian Beattie Handicap (1420m)
Quite keen on Tavidance here at a decent price.
Given, his wins are spaced, but he’s the kind of horse that can win at any stage of his prep – particularly first-up, something we’ve seen twice before.
He gets in nine and light with the in-form Patrick Moloney steering and I think his ‘get back, run on’ style of racing should suit here.
Race 7 – Sir Henry Bolte Handicap (2000m)
Happy to give Natural Mystic another look following his latest effort over the track and distance a couple of weeks ago.
The lightly-raced three-year-old rolled forward to his usual pattern but was swallowed up late over the final furlong to finish fifth. His form prior reads well though having won on debut at a Pakenham before winning again by a clear margin a couple of weeks later.
I think the tempo will be a little more genuine this time around, and with Patrick Moloney steering for the first time, a more patient ride might just do the trick.
Race 8 – The David Bourke (1630m)
This is a bit of a step up for Sir Davy, but based on recent form, everything suggests he’s up to it.
The son of Street Boss stormed home off the speed to beat Visnari at Caulfield a few weeks ago, a form line that reads well with that horse going on to win last week at Sandown.
The French import will be tough to beat again on the quick back up, but I think if Sir Davy jumps away well, he’ll be tough to beat off a freshen-up.
Race 9 – Country Achiever Gwenda Johnstone (1100m)
This all depends on where he lands from a slightly awkward draw, but on paper, Express Pass looks the one.
The Nick Ryan-trained five-year-old missed the start in The Discovery at Sale back in April and never really got going from back in the field. Prior to that though, he won the Gold Comet right on the line over 1000m here at Flemington, while he was also narrowly defeated by Malkovich the start before in the Bob Hoysted.
His record over this trip (6:3-0-1) stands out, and he’s always been a good fresh horse. Providing he’s close enough, he should be finishing off strongly.