Best Bet

Race 2 - #9 PRISMATIC (Win)

With the best flat form in the race, not often you see a 4YO by Savabeel making their jumps debut. This looks like an ideal race for Prismatic to step out over the hurdles for the first time and with such an even field of maiden hurdlers, the 2500m event should suit him perfectly. The stable has successfully dipped their toes back into jumps racing and I can’t help but feel this horse must have plenty of jumping ability if they are unleashing him as a younger horse. I am confident the horse wouldn’t be in this race if he didn’t rate as a winning chance and the $5.00 on opening is as good as we will see pre-barrier rise for him.

Next Best

Race 7 - #3 OLD TOWN ROAD (Win)

He is as honest as the day is long and his last three starts all reflect his ability as a winter galloper. This is a moderate field for an Open class event and while he will have to give a few of these a bit of weight relief, his course and distance record is a big plus and we know the Heavy track won’t worry him. He only has to continue to produce the performances we have seen routinely from him to put his number in the frame here. $2.50 on opening is a small gift from the bookies.

Value Bet

Race 6 - #4 SHACKELTONS EDGE (Win)

This rates as a very competitive race for our feature Steeplechase of the day. While he is only a 2-win horse in his career, when you look a little deeper, you can see he has taken to steeplechasing impressively. From just the three starts over the big fences he has won 2 and finished second in the other. He was off the scene for just under 2 years when we spotted him last start, but he was back empathically scoring a strong win. Trained locally from our dominant jumps stable, he excels around the Hakes Bay Steeple course and there is a sense of timing surrounding him coming into this race. The $5 posted as the opening quote, represents value in a very competitive steeplechase.