The major focus on any Saturday is metropolitan racing but there's plenty of us out there that don't mind a dabble at the support meetings across the country so here's our best bets.
On Saturday, we’ve come up with a tip at the Newcastle, Donald and Toowoomba meetings.
BEAUMONT (Newcastle)
NAUGHTY THOUGHTS (Race 8 No. 4) The four-year-old daughter of So You Think made a good return from a spell when run down late over this track and distance by a horse with a 6.5kg weight pull. So far she’s done her best racing on the Beaumont track having recorded her only win and two of her three second placings here over this trip. She’ll strip fitter for this outing and is drawn to get the favours in the run. There’s a couple here that are sure to be well fancied – Karavali and Savapinski – but Naughty Thoughts has some solid form references herself, last prep getting within half a length of Salsonic and The Pinnacle in different races. Don’t underestimate her.
DONALD
PASEO DEL RIO (Race 4 No. 10) We’ve been waiting for this filly to resume since spotting her in a couple of sharp recent jump outs and they have scratched her twice this week looking for the right race. The latest jump out at Caulfield on August 8th she flew along in front out wide on the track and won without being asked for anything. She did fail in both starts as a two-year-old but she was tight in the betting in both runs behind star fillies Catchy and Shoals so she’d obviously shown good ability and she gets a massive class drop here taking on a BM58 against a field of horses that won’t be going to much higher than this grade. The track will improve into the soft range but being by Reward For Effort we’re confident she’ll handle any conditions so with no weight from the good gate, she’ll take some catching.
TOOWOOMBA
IRON GEORGE (Race 5 No. 5) This former NSW-based galloper is on debut for the astute Ben Currie stable on Saturday. Iron George has come up short in four runs this time in but this is a significant drop in grade and he’s hardly been getting thrashed. Last time out he was beaten four lengths at the Warwick Farm midweeks by Centro Superior and that horse again placed at Warwick Farm on Wednesday. He drops 1.5kg in weight off that run after the apprentice’s claim and will race on the speed. He will give some cheek around this tight Toowoomba track.
