The biggest night on the WA harness racing calendar has arrived and what a race the Tabtouch WA Pacing Cup (2536m) promises to be.
The Group 1 $450,000 feature headlines a wonderful night of pacing at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
And the barrier draw has thrown the race wide open, with the horses drawn from the pole to gate four holding sway in the market.
But remember punters, this is a Pacing Cup and anything can happen.
Understandably, members of the WA Trotting Media Guild have looked elsewhere when assessing the 10-event program for their best bets.
Longshot guru Pat Harding and Guild president Wayne Currall have settled on Street Hawk as their best for the evening.
“Could be another good night for Greg and Skye Bond at GP this Friday night,” Harding said. ‘My best bet comes up in race two with the Bond horse Street Hawk. Has been knocking on the door for a win and this is his chance.”
And Currall agrees.
“Street Hawk resumed off a two-month break with a courageous second behind Bellissimo Acquisto at Pinjarra late last month,” Currall said. “He’ll strip much fitter from that run and just needs an ounce of luck from his backline draw to account for this field.”
TABradio’s Matt Young and Ernie Manning, the pacing expert from The West Australian and The Sunday Times, are keen on another Bond-trained horse as their best bet.
“Lusaka drops in grade nicely and looks to find a suitable race to land back into the winners‘ list,” Young said.
Manning is thinking along the same lines.
“Class colt Lusaka has won at eight of his past 12 races and looks suited this week after running unplaced when he started from gate nine in last Friday night’s WA Derby,” manning said. “He overcame a wide run when winning on October 6 at Gloucester Park and impressed there again by running second in the Western Gateway despite enduring another tough passage. The three-year-old was also out of luck when he did not get a clear Derby run. He should be too strong for older rivals on Friday night.”
Ryan Havercroft, the racing co-ordinator from The West Australian, has kept his powder dry until the last race on the program.
“Xceptional Arma has the class to overcome an outside draw in the final race,” Havercroft said. “Drawn the widest in the six-horse Barbagallo In Osborne Park 2YO Fillies race, she was inconvenienced in the Golden Slipper but has won at her other three appearances this campaign. She can make it a hat-trick of wins here.”
VALUE BETS
PAT: My double comes up in race four with another Bond horse in Jett Star from barrier five. He is due for a win.
WAYNE: I’m pinning my hopes (and my cash) to a quinella. Wonderful To Fly looks a good thing in race six … and Beyond The Sea is poised to get the perfect run behind the glamour mare to run second.
MATT: Arma Einstein is racing very well and has a nice trailing draw. He can overcome the draw and get a well-deserved win at each-way odds.
ERNIE: Five-year-old Machnificent has been beaten at his past eight starts, but he should not be underrated when racing third-up after a spell. He was blocked for a run when a first-up fifth on October 27 and his sulky locked heels last Friday night when he finished third. The horse is capable of scoring his ninth win at headquarters.
RYAN: Valentines Brook could start as the outsider of the field in the Pacing Cup but his form has been consistent enough to see him included. Just a tiny each-way play at a massive price.
Click Here to view all of the Media Guild tips for this week.
Good punting.