The ATC meeting will be held at Rosehill this Saturday. The track was rated a Slow 7 on Thursday and with showers forecast leading up to raceday, I anticipate the track will border on the Slow/Heavy range.
Flemington will hold Saturday’s meeting in Melbourne. The track was rated a Good 3 on Thursday and with a few showers forecast for the next two days, I expect Flemington will come up with a Dead 4 track.
In the opening race at Rosehill (Sydney Race 1, 1200m), I expect the Waterhouse-trained Bull Point be too good for these lot. Bull Point won his race debut last month followed by a good 2nd to Bart Cummings good colt Eurozone two weeks ago. I believe Eurozone has the class to win the Golden Rose and yet Bull Point was beaten for less than a length after given Eurozone a start. Class will prevail and Bull Point should win this race.
In the Prima Smallgoods BM80 Handicap (Sydney Race 2, 1400m), top weight Relaxed And Happy is probably the best 1200m horse in the race. But stepping up to 1400m from a wide gate could leave him vulnerable at the finish. That’s why I prefer the Snowden-trained Knoydart. The 3YO has been racing very consistently and hasn’t missed a place from 4 starts this preparation. Stepping up to 1400m 5th up looks ideal and he can handle the anticipated wet track having won on Heavy last start here at Rosehill.
In the Woolworths BM80 Handicap (Sydney Race 4, 1500m), I like the top weight Bay Window.The tough gelding had shown tremendous fight last start over this course and distance after he was taking on at the lead. He kicked back strongly on the inside to finish 3rd to Eigelstein. He has good record on the wet, at Rosehill and over 1500m. Up in the weight but down in class. From barrier 6, Josh Adams will take him straight to the lead and could prove hard to catch. Currently at $12.00 fixed odds, Bay Window represents a good each-way bet.
The feature of the meeting is the Winter Stakes (Sydney Race 6, 1400m). The class horse in this race is the top weight, Mic Mac. The 7YO has finally returned to form last start winning the Listed Civil Stakes. Now trained by Paul Messara, jockey Christian Reith took Mic Mac straight to the front in the Civil Stakes and I can see Reith using similar tactic from barrier 1 on Saturday. Mic Mac has a great record over 1400m having won 3 times out of 6 starts and he remains unbeaten at Rosehill over this distance winning 2 from 2. And he can handle the wet condition. Even with 60.5kg, I believe Mic Mac will still be too good for this field. Currently at $4.80 fixed odds, Mic Mac will do me in the Winter Stakes.
By Owens Wong, Editor
