Best Bet – Race 2 #1 Sciconic

This looks a race in two but happy to lean towards Sciconic over Zawadi. He brings solid Sydney form and has been good in two runs in Queensland. He has also since had a tune-up trial this week at the Gold Coast where he beat Dreamreacher. At his most recent race start he ran seventh at this track, but came from a wide gate and was only beaten just over a length. He’s drawn to get the perfect run this time and the engagement of Jim Byrne is a positive. The step up to 2200m is a plus too as he’s won over 2400m.

Next Best – Race 6 #Jumbo Goal

I’m keen on Jumbo Goal to once again beat the odds-on favourite Release The Beans. He’s done it before at this track and now meets Release the Beans 6kg better off at the weights after the claim for apprentice Jaden Lloyd. I’m assuming the market is factoring in Release the Beans has improved from the last time they met and perhaps there’s a thought Jumbo Goal has gone backwards after a head-scratcher last start. However, Release the Beans will still want to have improved plenty because Jumbo Goal beat him absolutely fair and square by 2.5 lengths when they met about seven weeks ago. The speed map is interesting here – despite only a small field, there’s a couple of speed runners. Lloyd will have to make a decision to ensure he’s not trapped wide on Jumbo Goal.

Best Each-Way – Race 4 #1 Exclusive

Have always had some time for this bloke and he should benefit from the trainer change. He’s now in the care of Lee Freedman and I expect him to add a length or two. Eagle Farm should pose no issue as he’s raced here once before, making ground from the back to be beaten less than 3L behing smart recent winner Royal Hale. The wide gate is no issue as he’ll get back anyway and with boom apprentice Kyle Wilson-Taylor on board he comes down to 56kg.