Deane Lester’s Flemington Best Bets

Posted on February 12, 2021February 12, 2021 | Posted by Deane Lester

RACE 2 NO.1 INGRATIATING

INGRATIATING can stake a late claim for next week’s Blue Diamond Stakes (1200m) with a win in the Talindert Stakes (1100m). The son of Frosted has been highly competitive in three starts to date, winning on debut in the Maribyrnong Trial Stakes (1000m) at Flemington on October 3 before finishing second in the Maribyrnong Plate (1000m) at Flemington on November 3 and then a recent first-up second behind the Blue Diamond favourite ENTHAAR in the Chairmans Stakes (1000m) at Caulfield on January 30. Trainer James Cummings has applied the blinkers to INGRATIATING who is a good talent and appeals as one of the good bets of the day.

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RACE 6 NO.6 SKYMAN

SKYMAN should be fitter for one run this campaign and should prove hard to beat when he runs in the Benchmark 84 Handicap (1600m). The Chris Waller trained gelding caught the eye when a strong finishing 4th behind VIRAL over 1400 metres at Flemington on January 16. He has been kept fresh for this race and the extra distance should be in his favour. The son of Mukhadram was given an easy 800 metres jumpout at Flemington in preparation for this race and he appears primed for another forward showing. He is already a Flemington winner and gets his chance to record his 4th career win from just 14 starts.

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RACE 9 NO.7 ZAKAT

The best bet of the day is ZAKAT when he runs in the Benchmark 84 Handicap (1200m). The four year old is resuming from a spell and looked like a coming winner with impressive trials in Sydney in recent weeks. The son of Lonhro has been in the top 3 at 13 of his 16 career starts illustrating his consistency to date. Melbourne’s leading rider Jamie Kah takes the mount and ZAKAT can complete a good day for the James Cummings stable.

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