Horse racing: Memsie Stakes Day – tips and preview

 
Cameron Rose Columnist

By , 31 Aug 2012 Cameron Rose is a Roar Expert

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    Horse racing: Memsie Stakes Day – tips and preview + enlarge image

    Jockey Nash Rawiller riding Pierro wins race 3 at Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney on Saturday, April 28, 2012.

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    Tomorrow is the first day of Spring, and brings with it for many the true beginning of racing’s Spring carnival in Melbourne, Memsie Stakes day at Caulfield.

    This is the day when many Caulfield and Melbourne Cups hopefuls resume, as well as those with an eye on the weight-for-age championship of Australasia, the Cox Plate.

    Sydney’s card, while reasonably thin tomorrow, contains two key races for those with Golden Rose and Caulfield Guineas aspirations, as well as stayers looking to make an impression on their way to the Metropolitan a month or so down the track.

    So without any further ado, let’s have a look at a few horses we might be able to make some money off by the time the sun sets tomorrow afternoon.

    Better Than Bank Interest – Pierro and All Too Hard

    There aren’t many out-and-out shorties running tomorrow, and none that I’m keen to declare a good thing, but if you’re looking for a banker to allow you to play in the latter half of the day, a quinella in the Run to the Rose (race 5 at Warwick Farm) might be the way to go.

    Pierro (pictured) needs no introduction after taking out the Sydney Triple Crown in his two year old year, and has never been beaten.

    All Too Hard has only seen three horses finish in front of him in his five starts, with one of them being the Gai Waterhouse-trained superstar and the other two not to be seen in this race.

    You might not want to take $2.10 about Pierro considering he’s a run behind All Too Hard this campaign, but aren’t keen about betting against a potential champion either.

    Take them in a quinella, and get anywhere between $1.50 and $1.80 for your trouble.

    Each Way All Day

    Race 7 at Caulfield sees a full sixteen horse field tackling the 1700m in the Listed Slickpix Stakes, and Avienus is a horse that we can bet with on confidence at around the $8 mark.

    She’s a horse that has spent the last couple of years shooting for the stars by racing in group one handicaps and weight-for-age races, so has a poorer strike than a horse of her ability otherwise might.

    While appearing hard to catch, she generally takes a few runs to get going in her campaigns, but holds her form when she finds it.

    Her last start second behind the smart Parthian suggested that she’s now ready to win. Dropping 2.5kg’s on that run, stepping up to a distance where she’s had three starts for two wins and a second, and striking her favoured dead track all suggests that we can have something each-way on Avienus and line-up to collect by race’s end.

    Rose’s Roughie

    The McNeil Stakes for 3YOs is race 4 at Caulfield, and it traditionally throws up some big odds horses into the placings.

    Last year saw the second and third horses start at $26 and $41 respectively, the 2010 winner Sistine Angel jumped at $15 beating a $13 chance and a $51 bolter, while the 2009 edition saw Éclair Fastpass run third at $21.

    With that in mind, it might be worth throwing a few dollars toward the Russell Cameron-trained Lady of Harrod’s at $41 or more, a filly that has more talent than her results have shown.

    She did everything wrong on debut in last year’s Maribyrnong Plate and still managed to run 4th of 16 before being put away for some more education.

    She raced greenly again upon resumption before putting it all together to record victory the first time she saw Caulfield, and was then sent for a spell once more.

    First up two weeks ago she was backed in from 31’s to 21’s before failing to handle the heavy track. Forget she ran.

    She’s drawn to get a great run from barrier five, her previous winning run at the track was second up like she is tomorrow, and she’s got the lightest weight of all runners. Lady of Harrod’s is well worth a tickle at huge odds.

    Get ready to enjoy the day tomorrow, I’ll certainly be at Caulfield watching on, and make sure you keep an eye on each horse in the Memsie Stakes itself, as you’ll probably find that a good portion of the runners will be winning some big races in the next twelve weeks.

    Cameron Rose is a born and bred Melbournian, raised on a regime of AFL, cricket and horse racing. He likes people who agree with him but loves those that don't, for in his mind there is nothing better than a roaring debate. He tweets from @camtherose.
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