International Racing: Tuesday 13 October 2020 – Australia

With the late scratching of one of his main rivals, the way may have been cleared for GEO to notch up his second career victory. He is seldom far off the action and finished fourth in his last outing, two lengths behind the winner when returning from a 26-week break. His jockey put up 1kg overweight that day and he should have finished closer to the winner as a result. He now jumps from gate six and is taken to be the best bet on the day’s card. ATHERTON has cracked pole position and followed up his penultimate run victory over this distance with a third-place finish over the same journey next time out. He has his peak run here and looks to be the immediate danger to the top choice. SAGACIOUS has made steady improvement in his last three runs culminating with his maiden win last time out over 1100M. He takes on stronger here, but may well be up to the task on hand.  

MUCH MUCH BETTER has finished second in his last two runs, the latest when 1.3L back from the winner over 1500M. He was only run out of it late that day and should appreciate the extra ground on offer today. He will start from gate eight and is made the value bet on the program. COSMIC SANDS stayed on well before ending up a neck winner of his latest outing over 1500M. He is drawn one inside the top pick and will have ex-SA jockey Keagan Latham in the irons, so should get all the necessary assistance from the saddle. UNAMERICAN jumped awkwardly and was then hampered at the 400M mark when finishing fifth last time out over a mile. Given better luck in running here, he should be involved in the finish, jumping from his handy draw three. 

KUTAYHA has only had the three runs and has posted a second and a third-place finish before finishing fourth in his last start over a mile, just over two lengths behind the winner when returning from an 18-week rest. He jumps from gate three and looks to the one to side with here in what appears to be an open looking contest. SAVVY LEGEND showed good improvement to finish second in his last outing over seven furlongs, a neck behind the victor. He finished strongly that day suggesting that the extra ground of today’s contest will be to his liking. He is sure to put his pole position to good use. MI GREYT MATE stayed on well to finish fifth in his last start over seven furlongs. He is drawn the widest of them all in gate ten, but he should be doing his best work late. FAST MELODY clearly did not enjoy the 2100M of his penultimate outing and was immediately rested for 25 weeks. He returned with a third-place finish over a more suitable seven-furlong trip, just over four lengths behind the winner. He gats gate four and should be included in all bets.

ZELL hit the front at the 300M mark and then stayed on well to win his last start over 1300m by a neck. He has pulled pole position and could prove to be good enough to complete his double here. FREE RIDER battled all the way down to the wire to win his last outing over six furlongs by two lengths. He is drawn one outside the former and he should be right up there when they hit the line. HARD FAITH is a 6yr old mare taking on the boys. She has consistent formlines to her credit and was collared in the shadow of the post when finishing second in her last start over seven, just a short-head behind the winner. She jumps from draw five and should give the males a good run for their money. 

Jackpot (race 4 – 7) – Cost: R54.00. 

1st	2nd	3rd	4th
3	3	4	4
1	7	1	3
2	2	7

SOLDIERS has consistent formlines to his name and finished strongly to win his last start over 1500M by a short-head. He has drawn gate three and can be expected to turn in another honest performance today. The gelding is taken to be the value bet on today’s card. AROHA TE MANA is drawn one inside the top choice and is seldom far off the action. He steps up in trip after finishing a head third last time out over seven furlongs and will get 3kgs taken off his back thanks to his claiming apprentice to aid his cause. UNSHAKEABLE followed up his penultimate run victory over six furlongs with a fifth-place finish over seven furlongs next time out, 1.8L behind the winner. He was making good late progress that day and should appreciate the extra distance on offer here. 

BERAHT tried to go from jump to wire before ending up in third place last time out over six furlongs, one length off the winner, but he did win his penultimate outing over this trip, so the shorter journey should not present an issue. Given his running style, pole position should be to his advantage. MICAWBER battled all the way down to the wire to claim a short-head victory last time out over this c&d. He will have to negotiate a wide draw of eight out of nine, but on the plus side, he will have 3kgs removed from his allocated weight courtesy of his claiming apprentice. BEAU JET also drops in distance after finishing fifth in his last start over six furlongs but did win his penultimate outing over this c&d by almost one length. From gate five he should be right up there in the firing line.

GOLDEN CHARLES is a speedy sort who finished second in his last outing over this five-furlong sprint, one and a half-length behind the winner. He gets to jump from gate five and may prove difficult to reel in over the closing stages of the contest. ALGEROBA put nearly five lengths between himself and the opposition when winning his penultimate start over this distance and then finished fifth over this c&d next time out, 1.7L off the victor. He will have to overcome a wide draw of eleven, but he possesses good early gate speed and should be able to move across without using up too much energy. CHEEKY REWARD is a 6yr old mare taking on the boys. She was only run out of it late when finishing fourth in her last start over seven furlongs and seem likely to appreciate the drop in trip here. She is drawn one inside the latter and will have a 3kg claiming apprentice in the saddle. 

LIGHTHORSE LAD drops in trip after finishing second in his latest outing over 1300M, just a head behind the winner, but did win over the c&d three runs back so this should not be a problem. He attracted plenty of betting support last time out, but jumped awkward, before running on well in the latter stages. He gets a handy draw three and is taken to be the best bet on the day’s program. COLD POWER had run second in his three prior runs before winning by a length last time out over the c&d. He starts from gate seven and looks to be the immediate danger to the top pick. FRENCH FIZZ is a 5yr old mare taking on males, but she showed solid improvement when stepping up from five furlongs to this six-furlong journey to finish second last time out, just a head behind the winner, despite being friendless in the betting markets. She will get 2kgs removed from her back for the services of her claiming apprentice and should be involved in the finish today.