After brushing interstate races for a long time, I was talking to a good mate Tom Haylock the other day. He created enough interest in our discussion to get me looking at the form. Sort of run off his hip here, after he gave me his run down I’ve done the form and here are my thoughts.
Straight up I have TE AKAU SHARK on top. He’s a top shelf kiwi in a top shelf stable and has been aimed at this race for a long time. They will have him cherry ripe and both his first two runs have had merit. Wrong part of the track last start but still ran best L400 and 200m of the race. Meets a lot worse at the weights, doesn’t really concern me.
NETTOYER is the best roughie. $31 looks juicy for exotics. She is a horse who can mix her form, she can be flat or she can be exceptional. The run at Newcastle was nearly as good as the winner ROCK and she’s 5x his price.
ROCK and DREAMFORCE the next best in my book. ROCK is a horse who just keeps stepping up and that’s what you want in a race like this. He will get back and be extremely strong late. DREAMFORCE looks to work across to lead, if they leave him alone (like the Doncaster) he will lead them for a long way.
*Not going overboard. Backing TE AKAU SHARK $7 and NETTOYEER $31 for good results and enough on ROCK/DREAMFORCE to just cover my stakes.
On Top: 4-TE AKAU SHARK $7
Best Roughie: 16-NETTOYER $31
Others: 10-ROCK, 1-DREAMFORCE
