The third and final day of the Warrnambool Carnival is upon us and The Wizard of Odds is looking to go out a winner!
He is firmly in the camp of the local trainers to continue their brilliant record at the carnival thus far.
Good luck, punters!
Warrnambool Race 1
#3 Eckhart
Valac has come up a horrendously short-priced favourite in this race and that is why we will side with Eckhart who has laudable jumping credentials.
He races here on the quick back-up after running a nice race on the flat surface at Cranbourne when being beaten six-lengths by smart three-year-old stayer Chequerboard.
The Patrick Payne-guided jumper handles the wet ground with no quarrels and has already had good success at his only two career jumps races with a win and a second-placed finish to his name.
Represents a much better bet than the current favourite.
Suggested Bet: Eckhart win at $3.8
Suggested Exotic: Exacta 3 & 4
Warrnambool Race 2
#4 Foxy Star
Foxy Star looks absolutely set for this race after a luckless run last start.
The two-year-old colt from the Matthew Williams stable settled some 10 to 12 lengths off the leaders at Terang over 1000 metres on debut and only say daylight in the last 200 metres.
Even then, he was still weaving and darting to get past tiring horses and did a fantastic job to run fifth.
With a better barrier, a smaller field and the senior jockey in Dean Yendall hopping aboard to take the ride, expect him to be serving it up to the favourite late in the race.
Suggested Bet: Foxy Star win at $5
Suggested Exotic: Quinella 4 & 9
Warrnambool Race 6
#10 Pres De Toi
Not too sure what Damian Lane had in mind with this six-year-old mare last start but his plan did not pay off.
After settling last and one off the fence from a wide barrier first-up from a spell over 1400 metres at Terang, Lane shifted and asked for an improvement from Pres De Toi but in doing so he opted to zoom towards the outside fence.
He probably lost about three-four lengths in the process but continued to punch away to run midfield.
It was a big run considering the amount of work she had to do and it will definitely have her cherry ripe from a fitness point of view for this race.
From barrier three, Lane should be able to settle her much closer in the run, and if the first two days are anything to by, the inside two lanes are the place to be in the run.
Suggested Bet: Pres De Toi win at $4.6
Suggested Exotic: Trifecta – 10/ 7, 8, 18/ 3, 4, 7, 8, 18
Warrnambool Race 7 - Grand Annual Steeplchase
#3 Gold Medals
Would be safe to say punters are probably more looking forward to hearing Rick McIntosh’s call of the race rather than having a punt.
Neverthless, in what is a brilliant edition of the Grand Annual we are going with Gold Medals to repeat the feats of the great Al Garhood and notch up a Grand Annual double.
He is following the exact same preparation which nearly won him the race last year only to be beaten by the freak jumper that is Ablaze.
Loved the zest he showed in his legs at his most recent jumps trial at Warrnambool which shows he still has his best in him.
He is actually weighted beautifully and drops a kilo compared to what he carried in this race last year.
Looks a ripping each-way bet and the Simon Wilde stable is, as usual, flying at this time of the year.
Suggested bet: Gold Medals each-way at $7 the win and $2.4 the place
Warrnambool Race 9 - Warrnambool Cup
#5 Wentwood
This race would have been circled, highlighted, underlined and put in capital letters for Wentwood.
His two return runs from a spell have been full of merit.
He had to carry around 60.5kgs first-up in the Stawell Cup, which was won by Hard ‘N’ Tough who meets much better at the weight scale now, and ran respectably to finish fifth.
That run was then followed up by victory in the Terang Cup with 60kgs on his back when the market did not really consider a strong winning chance sendinh him out a $16 chance.
Comes into his target with only 54.5kgs and Damian Lane should be able to blend him into the race three-wide with cover and produce his run when need be.
Suggested bet: Wentwood each-way at $7.5 the win and $2.6 the place
