Gai's Tip Sheet
WEDNESDAY 11th MARCH - WARWICK FARMRail Position: +3M EntireTHE WILDLING, Race 1, 1000m, 1.45pm, R Bayliss, 57.5kgThe Wildling was a bit disappointing first-up at Canterbury. She had to do a bit of work to secure the lead, but we still expected her to finish off a bit stronger than she did. However, she’s entitled to take plenty of benefit from that run so are confident that there’s improvement to come second-up. She’s dropping back in trip here which isn’t our usual preference, however this is a small and important winnable field. She showed plenty of speed first-up so we think she can handle it, and whilst the heavy track’s somewhat of an unknown we’re hopeful it’ll dry out come race day. This race is restricted to her own sex which is another positive, so if she can take the required improvement from her first-up run we hope she can bounce back and be competitive here.METALLIC CAT, Race 4, 1100m, 3.30pm, T Clark, 57kgMetallic Cat is thriving ahead of her first start. Her two trials this time in have been excellent, and she chased down the winner very gamely to finish a close second in her most recent one. The third horse, Oso Spirited, has also since come out and won at this track last week so this adds further confidence. This is a competitive enough race to start her off in, but she’s shown well above average ability in her trials to date and it’s a lucrative contest so she deserves to prove herself in this grade. She’s drawn a lovely barrier in 5, so Tim will be able to position her in a forward position where she can make her own luck on or close to the speed. We don’t think she’ll have any issue getting through the wet track, and she’s certainly got plenty going for her so with even luck in running we expect her to be right there at the finish.MUMBAI MAHARANI, Race 4, 1100m, 3.30pm, R Bayliss, 56.5kgMumbai Maharani is in fantastic order ahead of her first start. Her two trials this time in have been encouraging, and she closed off extremely strongly to finish an eye-catching third in her most recent one. As such, whilst 1100 metres is a lovely starting point for her we anticipate her improving as she stretches out over further later in her preparation. However, this is a lucrative contest so she deserves to prove herself in this grade. She’s drawn a lovely barrier in 2, so whilst there might be one or two that are a bit speedier than her in the early stages Regan will hopefully still be able to position her in a forward position where she can get a nice tow into the race. The wet track’s a bit of an unknown but we think she’ll handle it, and she’s a lovely filly who’s always shown us a lot of promise so with even luck in running we hope to see her hitting the line strongly to get her career off to an exciting start.ZOUFIELD, Race 8, 1400m, 5.50pm, T Clark, 56kgZoufield got his preparation off to the perfect start when winning over this distance at Canberra last month. The performance is even more meritorious when you consider he covered plenty of ground in the early part of the race to secure the lead, but he was able to do it at both ends and was still very strong through the line. As such, whilst this is a significant rise in grade we are confident that he’s got the upside to rise to the challenge. He’s drawn wide barrier 12 which doesn’t look great on paper, but he doesn’t jump the quickest from the gates so it might just work in his favour as Tim should be able to slot him in and get a good tow into the race. He’s taking on horses with more established form but he’s won two of his three starts, so there’s no faulting his record and we expect him to give this a good shake.THURSDAY 12th MARCH - NEWCASTLERail Position: +7M EntireEXCEED PERFECTION, Race 8, 1600m, 5.30pm, R Bayliss, 55kgExceed Perfection ran yet another honest race in defeat when second again at Kembla last time. He’s come through that in great shape, and he’s an honest gelding who invariably runs his race. This is a lovely race for him as it’s restricted to horses that have had four or more provincial or country race starts in the last year. However, as a result it is a competitive lineup so it’s by no means easy. Regan will roll forward from barrier 7 and he’ll likely settle just in behind the speed as his has for most of his preparation thus far. We know he handles wet tracks and he’s finished second over course and distance previously, so he goes well here and if he runs up to his best it should be good enough to put him in the finish.
