Best bet | Race 7 #3 Aramayo
Looks perfectly placed in this event. He is really well-weighted, drawn nicely and his form is far superior to his rivals. He never really fired last prep, but two of those runs were at Group Three level and he was far from disgraced. If he’s still anywhere near his best, he should be too good for his rivals here. Third-up two preps ago he ran well in the Group One Cantala at Flemington behind Superstorm. Prior to that he almost beat Private Eye at Group One level in Sydney. The two runs this prep suggest he’s not far off his best – close behind Kirwan’s Lane last start at Group Two level in the Ingham and first-up at the start prior, he wasn’t far off Vilana in The Hunter. He will likely get back and may need luck, but looks to have a class edge here.
Next best | Race 6 #5 Jovialty
Looks a strong chance to turn the tables on Palladas here, with a number of factors in her favour from when they last met. Joviality was beaten half a length by Palladas when the pair was both first-up last start at Eagle Farm. Palladas had barrier one and Jovialty came out of eight, and the winner had a kilogram less than the latter who ran second. Joviality had to come wide, whereas Palladas had been cuddled up on the fence and burst through when the gap appeared in the straight. Not expecting much different in the run here, with Palladas jumping from three and Jovialty from five. I’m banking on the weight swing being the difference here.
Best each way | Race 8 #6 Zethus
Found this a difficult program to find value, but I think this 4yo has the right profile to perform well here. He’s a proven fresh performer who is lightly-raced and still has plenty of upside. The wide gate is potentially tricky but I’ll trust Orman to get it right. While he’s not officially “first-up” he is four weeks between runs and will be on the fresh side despite also having a ‘tick over’ trial at Wyong last week. Some of his form is up to beating really competitive here, and the Godolphin stable is flying.