Deane Lester’s Moonee Valley Best Bets

Smart two year old JIGSAW is well placed to make it back-to-back wins when he contests the Two Year Old Handicap (1000m). The son of Manhattan Rain has won two of his four starts to date including a dominant first-up victory over 1100 metres at Caulfield on June 26. In the five weeks since his last run, the Cindy Alderson trained colt has trialled in dashing fashion over 800 metres at Cranbourne on July 19, only confirming his form and fitness. He has a great racing style in that he should make own luck and elite rider Mark Zahra, fresh back from holidays, should bounce JIGSAW into a forward position and prove too classy. He’s a spring contender that appeals as the best bet of the day.

RACE 4 NO.2 DR DRILL

DR DRILL has endured a long and meticulous campaign to bring him to peak fitness when can culminate in a victory in the Quality Handicap (2040m). A Cranbourne and Scone Cup winner in previous seasons, the six year old has had four runs back from a spell and comes off a solid last start 2^nd behind FURRION over 2000 metres at Flemington on July 17. He has been placed at two of his runs at The Valley and now gets the services of Melbourne’s leading rider Jamie Kah. The Maher/ Eustace stable are about to be crowned Melbourne’s leading trainers for the 2020-21 season and DR DRILL can contribute another win to their already impressive tally of winners.

RACE 8 NO.10 GOLDEN FOURTH

The Three Year Old Handicap (2040m) looks an open race with a host of chances and one of those good chances appears to be improving filly GOLDEN FOURTH at nice each way odds. The Matt Laurie trained filly has won two of her four starts this campaign and comes off a big performance when finishing 2^nd behind DIAQUIN over 1765 metres at Geelong on July 16. She made good ground to the line against older horses suggesting that the extra distance of this race looks ideal, she handles soft ground well which will be an asset given the likely track conditions and, significantly, she drops 6kg on her last run courtesy of Matthew Cartwright’s 2kg claim. She’s an improving type that appears to be good value in a competitive race.