Welcome to Weekend Winners, your one-stop tipping sheet for Saturday's big meetings.
GOLDEN ROSE TIP – MENARI (Rosehill - Race 7 No. 2) – When it came to the crunch nobody in the Weekend Winners selection panel was willing to put the jewels on the line and tip anything with real purpose to beat the favourite. The last five Golden Rose winners have come through the Run To The Rose so he gets a tick. Three of those five won the race so he gets another tick while the other two Golden Rose winners both carried weight penalties in the Run To The Rose and that’s another tick. Thinking back to Racenet’s old podcast – he Ticks all the Boxes.
STAR BET – RAVI (Caulfield - Race 8 No. 6) – She’s always been a highly-talented mare but she looks en route to a new level now because her first-up win was a career best. Why was it a career best? Because she was able to put herself into the race and then her turn of foot was so much more effective. She’s drawn a favourable barrier again on Saturday and is suited at set weights and penalties. This race is no harder than the one she dominated a fortnight ago and she shapes as a genuine star best for followers.
VALUE TIP – IMPAVIDO (Rosehill – Race 9 No. 10) – We are not letting this horse get under our guard on Saturday. In his first campaign as an autumn three-year-old he punched well above his weight when struggling to gain clear running and finishing two lengths behind Dawn Wall before striking interference in the Randwick Guineas then finishing off in good fashion to hit the line fourth, 2-3/4 lengths behind Inference. The stable gave him another two runs in the Rosehill Guineas and Australian Derby but with hindsight, he’d probably had enough. Resumes here on Saturday and his last trial was good. Gets in light at the weights and he’s drawn well. The double figure odds are attractive.
THE KITTY FILLER TIP – BEAU GESTE ( Rosehill Race 1 No. 2) – Early betting indications are they want to take this Godolphin horse on with the support coming for Chris Waller’s impressive maiden winner Paret. We’ve been around long enough to dig a bit deeper and compare the two horses before declaring our allegiance and here it is. Think back to Beau Geste’s debut – he thumped Last Starfighter in equally impressive fashion back in May and then Last Starfighter came to town and ran good races against Saturday company. Now for Paret. He beat Icon Of Dubai on debut and where’s he on Saturday? At Kembla trying to win a maiden. We’re happy to be with Beau Guest which will have improved off his first-up run behind the classy Super Ex.
THE SNEAKY TIP – ROYAL TUDOR ( Caulfield Race 6 No. 8) – Only the winner Voodoo Lad and So Si Bon closed off quicker than him when resuming in a solid edition of The Heath. That was his first run the Victorian way so we’re expecting him to make sharp improvement come Saturday. He’s a horse that has excellent second-up figures and with the run under his belt strips much fitter, drops in weight and drawn to get the suck run. We’re not convinced Brave Smash is worthy of being odds on and because he’s so short there’s value elsewhere to be had and we’ve come up with Royal Tudor at $19.
LIFE, HOPE & TRUTH TIP – THY KINGDOM COME ( Rosehill Race 6 No. 8) – Plenty of punters say the occasional prayer and we were quite taken by the easy kill this John Thompson-trained galloper had at Kembla last start. He’s shown a few times in his first few starts he had above average ability and his six-length maiden romp was the first time he’d stepped out beyond 1400m. This is a massive step up in grade but think back to the autumn when he didn’t have much luck finishing 2-1/2 lengths behind Single Bullet in the Pago Pago. Not expecting him to be too far from the speed here and he can measure up. Worth a look at double-figure odds.
READY NOW TIP – HARLOW GOLD ( Caulfield Race 7 No. 12) – Classy staying type of mare that should be ready to produce her best off two solid build-up runs. During her three-year-old season she indicated what she was capable of with placings in the Group I VRC Oaks and Vinery Stud Stakes then pulled up with issues after the Australian Oaks. She’s drawn a tricky gate on Saturday but she’s now got the foundation under her belt to keep running through the line and we feel she’s attractively priced at $17.
LAST CHANCE SALOON TIP – OMEI SWORD ( Rosehill Race 7 No. 2) – OK this is D-day but before you fly in telling us she’s a non-winner and a bookies horse, let us make the case. First-up she knuckled badly on jumping, settled well back then after being held up produced the best last 200m of the race behind the record breaking Deploy in the Show County Quality. Then, second-up, she drew out and was given a negative ride to offset the gate in what was a slowly run race. Her winning chances were dashed before the home turn the way the race was run but she was the only runner to break 33 seconds for the last 600m. This week she’s drawn barrier 2 so don’t expect her to travel any further back than midfield and she won’t be out eight wide entering the straight this time. Yes, it’s now or never but this time factors indicate it more now than never.
THE PUNTERS TIP – PASSION TO WIN ( Ipswich Race 7 No. 13) – This is something all of us are united on, when we have a bet – our Passion To Win rules all. This speedy mare looks well placed to give us a good sight on Saturday around the leaderish circuit that is Ipswich. Passion To Win is fourth up after making good improvement at each of her three starts, culminating in a soft win last time out at this track. Steps up to 1200m on Saturday but should lead and she’s got a decent record over the trip. We’re happy to show our Passion if and when she wins.
LET’S GO TIP – PETITION (Caulfield Race 9 No. 11) – She was given none when resuming, getting back in a slowly run affair that was dominated by horses racing up on the speed. Finds herself in a race on Saturday with a bit of tempo and a big weight drop. Does no work from the inside gate, gets a huge positive jockey change with Damien Lane stepping into the saddle and she showed what she’s capable of in her first two preps with some excellent performances in solid races. It’s time for her to make a statement and we are signing on.
