Top bets from Clinton Payne for Wednesday

Clinton Payne - Tuesday October 10

An old favourite, a talented prospect and a serial underachiever make up my best punting opportunities at Wednesday’s Warwick Farm meeting.

Advertisement

HIGH MIST (Warwick Farm Race 5 No 1)
Chancing the arm because I can’t believe the price. I admit, he’s tough to catch but gee he looks well placed on Wednesday. He wasn’t as bad as it reads first-up and the rider was kind on him in the straight. Look at his form last prep – He was good first-up with a big weight against the older horses then in Saturday grade he performed well against the smart and progressive gallopers Just Dreaming and Insensata. Another factor I think he’ll appreciate in this is it should be a genuinely run race after being a victim of steady tempos on a few occasions. The other point I want to touch on is he’s zero from seven on good tracks but if you analyse those runs, they’ve been first-up or at the end of campaigns, like the spring last year when he was running in races at a mile and beyond and I doubt he stays. He’s good enough to touch these up – we just need him to bring his A-game.
BET: EACH-WAY
ODDS $10 
@ Luxbet

BEACON (Warwick Farm Race 6 No 10)
The form around this guy reads well for this. They held him back from a stronger race and it looks to have fallen into place for him, drawing ideally in barrier three and Hugh Bowman can ride this time. On debut he beat Faeger and that horse has since finished close up behind the talented Songlike and subsequent Group II winner Showtime. He then finished a close second behind the speedy Cudabeen, beating Princess Posh and she has won since, finished sixth in the Tibbie and ran second to the handy Philosophy last week then at Beacon’s most recent run he thumped Workdrinks which ran well for second in a strong race two weeks ago. He’s better than a midweek grade horse and this is a stepping stone towards harder races for the rest of the preparation. Will be hard to beat.
BET: WIN
ODDS $2.80 
@ Bet365

DIXIE CHICK (Warwick Farm Race 8 No 4)
Forgive, sounds good. Forget, I'm not sure I could. They say time heals everything. But I'm still waiting – is the start of the Dixie Chicks biggest hit ‘Not ready to make nice’ and that’s how I felt when this David Pfieffer-trained mare was beaten first-up in a midweek grade race at Newcastle last prep. I’m a victim for her at the start of her campaign because she’s a great fresh horse and last time she fell afoul of the dreaded barrier two – never sighting daylight in the straight. Time for redemption – I’m happy to see she’s drawn out wide on Wednesday, hopefully that guarantees us a clear crack at them and her trials leading up to this have been as good as ever. She’s great odds.
BET: WIN or EACH-WAY
ODDS $7.50 
@ Sportsbet ($8.30 Power Play)

Advertisment
More Reading...
Buccleuch - First Stakes-Winner for Peltzer
The $175,000 Listed VRC Taj Rossi Series Final (1600m) at Flemington on Saturday was won back in 2020 by Cherry Tortoni, who went to on to become a multiple Group winner of nearly $1million and the same colours were carried by this year’s winner Buccleuch.
Marble Nine Brings Up Second Stakes Winner For Aquis’ Kobayashi
The withdrawal of the top weight in Saturday’s $175,000 Listed VRC Santa Ana Lane Sprint Series Final (1200m) at Flemington saw the field down to just six, with Marble Nine continuing his outstanding recent form to secure his first black type victory.
Juvenile Trial Watch – Rosehill
There were six heats for juveniles at Rosehill on Friday morning and the winners include unraced youngsters by Cool Aza Beel and I Am Invincible, plus a Farnan colt that tried his luck in Group races in the autumn and was far from disgraced.
Breeding To Win – Crystal Ball – New Season 3YOs to Follow
Analysis of the G1 winning 3YO’s for this season has made us realise how many horses on this list took giant strides from two to three, so we are looking into the crystal ball to find some juveniles we believe could end next season as G1 performers if not G1 winners.
Invincible 2YO Colt wins for Bennett Racing
The $150,000 VRC Next Gen Sprinters Series Final (1200m) for two year-olds at Flemington on Saturday drew a competitive field of progressive juveniles and the colt that stood out on type in the yard was the one that got the cash with I Am Invincible colt Jimmy Recard proving too good for race favourite Bacash.
High-flying Pencarrow Stud offers well-bred mares in Online Breeding Stock Sale
The 2024-25 season has been one of the best ever for Pencarrow Stud, and some of the renowned bloodlines that have underpinned that success are now available for purchase in the 2025 National Online Breeding Stock Sale on Gavelhouse Plus.
Third Winner for Peltzer
Twin Hills Stud’s young sire Peltzer added a third winner to his tally with a debut victory at Canberra on Friday for the well named gelding I Show Speed.
Spring Potential for Darby Racing's Raging Force
Unplaced in the Group III ATC Breeders’ Plate last spring on debut, Raging Force came out of that race with an injury that required significant time on the sidelines, but since returning to full work his progress has been swift.
Sires With Winners - Friday July 4
Here is the full list of 38 stallions which had winners throughout Australasia today with winners and result details.
One to Watch – Ballarat
Synthetic track meetings at Ballarat can throw up some misleading form, but a debut winner from the Tony and Calvin McEvoy stable that started in the red and won by nine lengths is probably worth a closer look.