The 2013 Winter Challenge is shaping up as a top showdown this Saturday to kick off stakes racing for the new season.
Darci Be Good (inside) is a roughie pick for third for the 2013 Winter Challenge from Races.com.au. Photo: Steve Hart.
With a number of exciting entries dominating the markets, below are the Races.com.au team’s betting tips on the Rosehill feature.
There are 10 horses in the mix for the $100,000 Listed Winter Challenge (1500m) this year, early favourite of which is Under The Sun at $3.30.
There’s certainly lots to like about the Gai Waterhouse-trained gelding too who has won two of their past three starts including the Listed Winter Stakes (1400m) here by three and a half lengths on July 20.
Hot on their heels and firming in from $4.80 to $4.20 is then Chris Waller’s French import Bayrir making their Australian race debut.
The US Grade 1 winner has the 59kg top weight but looks all class and this is a nice easy intro to racing down under for the Medicean stallion.
Plenty of other single-figure fancies in the Winter Challenge odds too making for an open betting affair.
Others under $10 include recent trial winner Less Is More ($6), one of Waller’s two other runners Coup Ay Tee ($6.50) who was a nice third in the Winter Stakes and Bold Glance ($8.50) who was one further back in the Winter Stakes running fourth.
So will the Winter Challenge winner come from one of the shorties in the markets? Or is there an upset on the cards?
1st: #1 Bayrir ($4.20)
Money coming thick and fast for Waller’s French expat and we can see why. They emulate class as proven by their Group 1 Secretariat Stakes victory at Arlington around this time last year. Come off a long break (Hong Kong in December their last) but record shows they go well fresh. Distance should be spot on and two soft trials at this track say they’ll handle Rosehill and these without too much drama even with the weight.
2nd: #2 Under The Sun ($3.30)
Deserving favourite but just thing the Frenchie will have it over them. It could be close though so go Each Way? Waterhouse is enjoying a nice start to the season and she’ll want to keep that going with this five-year-old who is in top form. Winter Stakes victory over Mic Mac was a tidy 3.5 length effort at this track, have run and won over the 1500m here too last November so distance no issue. Loves Rosehill and can handle a fiar bit of racing. Only worry is the step up from 54.5kg last start to 57.5kg here which they could struggle with.
3rd: #6 Darci Be Good ($18)
Juicy price for this resuming Bede Murray-trained Group 3 winner. Goes first-up over this distance which will suit, hasn’t run since an eighth here back in February but they’d been up for a while. Good form throughout the summer including a third in the Group 3 Villiers Stakes (1600m). Has won at Rosehill first-up before and while don’t think that’ll be the case here, from barrier eight with 55kg can be competitive.
To lock in our Winter Challenge 2013 trifecta tip head over to bookmaker.com.au where you’ll find all the weekend’s best racing markets.
Thanks to their easy-to-use mobile betting site bookmaker.com.au should also be your number one bookie when you want to bet on the races from wherever you are so sign-up and experience a better way to bet today!
*All odds quoted are Fixed Win from bookmaker.com.au and subject to change
