Best Bet

Race 5 - #6 VALLEY KING (Win)

From the powerful Kevin Myers stable, this lightly tried son of Mongolian Khan looks to be above average for sure. A pretty comfortable win on Day 1 of the carnival suggested he will work his way through the grades quickly. He does face a 2.5kg rise in the weights but from his low draw he should get an economical run-in transit and I think the $3 posted early for him is a nice price for a horse of his class.

Next Best Bet

Race 7 - #2 VICTOR ROUGE (Win)

The Ashburton visitor has been racing in great form recently and this race looks an ideal target for him. He does have to carry the big weight, but I am confident he strikes a very winnable race here. The inside draw might be a small query for a horse with his racing pattern, but the roomy Riccarton track should see him get every opportunity to finish over the top of this field.

Value Bet

Race 8 - #8 PRINCE ALBY (Each Way)

An interesting race here with a number of runners backing up from last weeks Winter Cup and with the absence of a horse such as Justaskme, they all have to deal with a sharp rise in the weights. One horse who benefits majorly from the rise in the weights of others is Prince Alby, who stays on 54kg in this event. His run in the Winter Cup was good for a stayer resuming and this race being and extra 200m should really assist his chances. He certainly has the quality to win a race like this. The $6 and $2.10 opening quote is a fair marker for him and it wouldn’t surprise me to see him round them up late.