Races

Chris Nelson’s Saturday Rosehill Preview

Posted on | Posted by Chris Nelson

Race 1

Group 1 racing at Rosehill on Saturday with a crack yet select field of 3yo’s lining up in the Golden Rose. Weather fine, track good & we get things underway with a 1300m Midway where I’m with John Sargent pair (5) VETWELVE & (6) MERIDIANA to fight out the finish. Have to lean to the former who draws the better gate (clearly), carries less weight & has the fitness edge. Apart from a blemish at Randwick three runs back all outings this prep have resulted in wins or placings. (6) MERIDIANA won her maiden in impressive fashion before taking on Listed company her only other 3 starts, this looks very suitable with luck in running. (4) MOGWAI improved last start & any repeat here has him in the place mix.

Numbers: 5 – 6 – 4 – 12

Suggested Bet: VETWELVE TO WIN/Saver MERIDIANA.

RACE 2

Very open looking Highway. I’ll default back to a horse who definitely has plenty of ability however his back marking pattern does him no favours & that’s (2) WARRIOR FOR PEACE. The very wide draw may help here as he will be able to hook wide & sweep home without running into traffic. (8) POISEN POINT strips fitter & is consistent, (10) KING JERRY finds the line well whilst (14) TOM VEGAS drops back in grade big time. Not keen at all here.

Numbers: 2 – 8 – 10 – 14

Suggested Bet: No thanks!

RACE 3

Small field however this Group 3 for the stayers is very difficult to sort as they do tend to mix their form. The newcomer is the Victorian visitor (5) TARAMANSOUR who did show improvement when stepping up to 2500m last start at Flemington at this level. He’s a little one-paced however this will see the trip right out. (7) JUJA KIBO has been quite consistent this prep winning on 3 occasions including last start, in the mix again as all of them to be honest.

Numbers: 5 – 7 – 8 – 1

Suggested Bet: Wide exotics.

RACE 4

Chris Waller holds a strong hand in this race with 4 of the 11 acceptors. (4) STRATHAY goes around here third up & gets J. Mac to steer who you would think has had the pick of the stable runners. The additional 100m should be far enough to assist. (2) WOOTTON VERDI & (3) GOD’S WINDOW did make ground last start however neither attacked the line with any great zip, maybe one more each? No knock (8) NKOSI who will be doing his thing up front.

Numbers: 4 – 8 – 2 – 3

Suggested Bet: Box up top 4 selections in exotics.

RACE 5

The very consistent (3) LORD OF BISCAY looks well placed here second up with J. Mac again to ride. He drew wide first up & went back before closing off nicely over the concluding stages. This time around he draws the pole & rises nothing in weight yet gets the added fitness. (8) POINT AND SHOOT did punters no favours when well supported at Randwick second up making a complete meal of the start & losing any possible chance, he’s a horse with a very sharp sprint when on good ground which he’ll get here, just needs to jump with them! Back in distance (10) FORMAL DISPLAY should improve.

Numbers: 3 – 8 – 10 – 9

Suggested Bet: LORD OF BISCAY TO WIN/Saver POINT AND SHOOT.

RACE 6

Very tidy line up of 3yo’s to contest the Listed Heritage where the highly spruiked (2) BEADMAN makes his long-awaited return together with the Golden Slipper winner (4) MARHOONA. I’m siding with the latter who has only been beaten on the one occasion & that was a narrow defeat at the hands of the super smart filly Tempted. Trials have been clearly good enough for this & she should land a good run from the gate. (2) BEADMAN faces a bit of an acid test in my opinion, yes he bolted in that Gold Coast race back in May however it was on a bog track, wasn’t overly wrapped in his recent trial win when pushed out. His stablemate (11) AKAYSHA in the mix also off a good Flemington effort last start.

Numbers: 4 – 2 – 11 – 6

Suggested Bet: MARHOONA TO WIN.

RACE 7

The Group 2 Golden Pendant sees a fairly evenly bunched group of mares battling it out. Found it very difficult to come up with a confident selection, there’s both positives & negatives for all unfortunately. (1) MANAAL landed plenty of favours in the run when winning here last start, whilst I’m wary of that I’m also aware she maps to again get the right run & is a very classy mare. (6) GERRINGONG will be up front, hasn’t been finishing off however by the same token hasn’t been far away either. (4) DARK GLITTER & (2) FIRESTORM have the ability however will get back & possible lack of tempo is concerning, will it be solid enough?

Numbers: 1 – 6 – 4 – 2

Suggested Bet: Box up top 4 selections in exotics.

RACE 8

The Group 1 Golden Rose is low on quantity however high on quality, cracking bunch of 3yo’s. Winning chances are nos.3, 4, 7 & 9. I’m with the filly (9) TEMPTED who returned with one heck of a bang in the Run To The Rose here a fortnight back. She relished the strong pace up front producing a big finish to level up & then race clear of her rivals. The 1400m is ideal now & she’s going to strip all the fitter. (3) SKYHOOK chased her home & definitely should have finished closer if not for being held up in the straight, just feel the filly has more improvement to come being second-up. (7) AUTUMN BOY shaped as though he’s now looking for a mile off his first up run in the 1400m Ming Dynasty however the blinkers go on here which makes me wary. (4) WODETON should appreciated the step up to 1400m, he was good behind TEMPTED last start running on well after racing wide throughout.

Numbers: 9 – 3 – 7 – 4

Suggested Bet: TEMPTED TO WIN.

RACE 9

Group 1 winner (1) GRINGOTTS appears well placed here in the Group 2 Shannon stripping fitter for his close-up effort in the Winx Stakes behind the star Waller mares on very heavy ground. He’ll find this an easier assignment & can go forward if there’s a lack of speed, he is a very versatile galloper. (4) RISE AT DAWN was very good fresh at Flemington, just needs to offset the wide gate early on. I’ve given up trying to catch (7) ENCAP however he’s more than capable of showing up in this field, his closing sectional first up was solid. Track specialist (8) WATERFORD in the mix.

Numbers: 1 – 4 – 7 – 8

Suggested Bet: GRINGOTTS TO WIN.

RACE 10

Taking a punt on the third-up (8) ROSELYN’S STAR who ran a cracking race first up off a break of well over a year. Flat second up which was always a possibly he’s been kept nice & fresh into this having not raced for almost a month, note he has won a trial since though & is drawn to get the right run here. No doubt (7) POLYGLOT is ready to win, has to deal with the outside gate however gets the right jock to produce something magical. Throw (14) CHIDICAC into the placings, good last start having very little in the way of luck, she holds a very good strike rate.

Numbers: 8 – 7 – 14 – 4

Suggested Bet: Box up top 4 selections in exotics.

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