Best bet | Race 7 #4 UNCOMMON JAMES
Talented three-year-old looking to book a trip to Melbourne for some early spring features if he can show his class here. It’s no secret the O’Dea/Hoysted team is flying this season, and this is the horse who has the talent within the team to test the waters outside of Queensland. He returned a big winner at Eagle Farm first-up off some nice trials, and he should’ve improved for the run. He has a potentially sticky gate but expect him to be put into the race early, given he showed good gate speed in his trials this campaign. The track is currently a Heavy 8, which is an unknown, but it should be back in the soft range come this race.
Next best bet | Race 3 #1 ALPINE EDGE
Alpine Edge has the class edge on his rivals and should get the job done here even with the big weight. He will carry 60.5kg after the claim for Jayden Lloyd. Each of his four runs this prep have been in much better class, including a Group One assignment when not far behind Mazu. He’s had wide gates in most of his runs this prep but gets a nice run from barrier three. He should be clear favourite.
Best each way | Race 1 #3 FOR MY ANNIE
A quirky sprinter, but when he gets it right, he’s got a lethal sprint. He’s obviously a horse who’s had his issues because he’s a 6yo with only 15 starts, but six of those were wins. The soft track will be no concern and I really like the booking of Jimmy Orman. He can be a tricky horse out of the gates, but expect Orman to have him ready to fire from gate three. Big value.