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Opinion

Five races to follow with interest at Randwick on Saturday

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Expert
15th April, 2021
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Racing fans are in for a genuine treat on Saturday with some mouth-watering action in Sydney at Royal Randwick.

For those who missed yesterday’s preview of the Queen Elizabeth Stakes, it should be the race that stops a nation.

While the feature event on the card is an absolute belter, there’s no shortage of quality throughout the program.

Below are five other races where I think we might be able to snare a winner.

Good luck on the punt.

Hunting Horn

(Photo by Daniel Pockett/Getty Images)

Randwick (NSW)

Track: Good 4 at the time of writing. Rail out three metres.

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Race 4 (1:15pm): $1 million Group 2 Percy Sykes Stakes (1200m)
This is a really handy two-year-old race, and I’m leaning towards an improving maiden who looks to have plenty of upside.

Trifaccia has raced twice for two thirds and I thought her last run in the Group 2 Reisling last month was full of merit. She got back a long way but powered home to run into the placings, beaten a length by winner Glistening.

With natural improvement and a key gear change, I think this filly can win her first race on Saturday.

Suggested bet: Trifaccia (No. 7) to win.

Race 5 (1:50pm): $1 million Group 1 Australian Oaks (2400 metres)
This race can be an unpredictable beast, and it looks an even contest again this year. I’m on the side of Hungry Heart, who I think will enjoy the firmer surface compared to some rivals.

This filly has won her last two races, looks well equipped to stay the journey and is in the best barn in Sydney. When you tick those boxes, it’s hard to look elsewhere.

I’d love to see the Kiwi raider Amarelinha win after her victory in the New Zealand Oaks, so I will probably have a saver on her.

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Suggested bet: Hungry Heart (No. 3) to win.

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Race 6 (2:25pm): $1 million Group 2 Arrowfield Sprint (1200 metres)
Rocketing By looks to be well over the odds in this race for a colt that has won four of his eight starts and comes into the race with three on the trot.

This looks like a tougher assignment, but winners are winners, and this David Pfieffer-trained three-year-old loves to savage the finishing line.

Kerrin McEvoy has options from barrier eight, and with any kind of luck we’ll see Rocketing By in the finish at double-figure odds.

Suggested bet: Rocketing By (No. 3) each-way.

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Race 7 (3:05pm): $2 million Group 1 Sydney Cup (3200 metres)
The Sydney Cup isn’t what it used to be. It has become a very difficult race to predict. The best horse in the race is probably The Chosen One, who will carry the top weight. He ran third in last year’s Caulfield Cup and was fourth in the Melbourne Cup. He has drawn awkwardly though, and it’s not a race where I want to be on the favourite. Instead I’m leaning towards She’s Ideel, who has been knocking on the door for some time.

A win can’t be too far away, and I think she’ll love this trip. Rachel King needs to give her a soft run from barrier four and hope she’s brilliant enough in the final 400 metres.

Suggested bet: She’s Ideel (No. 12) each way.

Race 9 (4:30pm): $1 million Queen of the Turf (1600 metres)
I really think Probabeel is the horse to beat here, but she’s very short in the market and comes into the race off a five-week break, having been disappointing in the All-Star Mile.

If she brings her best, she will put these away.

However, the value in the race is Odeum, who is third-up on Saturday and should be peaking after good runs at Flemington and in the Darby Munro behind Isotope over 1200 metres at Rosehill.

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If Odeum can handle the mile, and I think she can, there’s no doubt she’ll be a contender at each-way odds.

Suggested bet: Odeum (No. 11) each way.

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