With a $500,000 prize pool up for grabs, Menangle has attracted some of the best pacers in the country for the running of the Group Inter Dominion Pacing Grand Final.
The BetDeluxe team is licking its lips ahead of the prospect of diving into the eight-race program for the best bets ahead of Saturday night harness action.
menangle race 1
#4 egodan
Get the feeling Egodan will start the favourite in this race after producing a great first-up run for his new stable.
The nine-year-old gelding might be getting a bit long in the tooth, but he showed great fight and speed to chase home hard and finish second behind Jay Ok.
He did draw wide on the front row last week and was eased out of the speed battle early in the race.
Conceding the start is probably what cost him the race, but gate four this around presents driver Cameron Hart with a golden opportunity to find a spot handier to the leaders.
Suggested Bet: Egodan win at $4
Suggested Exotic: Quinella 4 & 5
menangle race 3
#2 delightful dude
Hard to ignore the first-up win of Delightful Dude when assessing this race.
He looked as comfortable as a pig in mud when scoring a 3.5-metre win over 2300 metres at Menangle when resuming from a 133-day spell.
He has come back in terrific order and possesses the gate speed to lead this field up from gate two.
Expecting Cameron Hart to press the button early in this race and try to get the field chasing from a long way out.
The horse clearly has a liking to this track with two starts representing two wins.
He is the one to beat here and the best of the night.
Suggested Bet: Delightful Dude win at $3.6
menagle race 6
#3 mach dan
This race looks to set up perfectly for Mach Dan.
Looking at the speed map, the lead is clearly up for grabs and Mach Dan draws the ideal gate to use his early tactical speed to full advantage here.
Greg Sugars can pounce on the lead early and stack this field up for as long as he needs to.
He did a good job when facing a less than ideal scenario at Newcastle in his Inter Dominion heat behind the very smart Expensive Ego.
A repeat of that run here in addition with a much better race shape sees him as the on-top selection.
Suggested Bet: Mach Dan win at $2.6
Suggested Exotic: Boxed Trifecta – 3, 7, 14
menangle race 7
#4 triple eight
The race we are all here for on Saturday night at Menangle; The $500,000 Inter Dominion Pacing Grand Final over 3009 metres.
The betting and headlines are telling us all this is going to be a battle between two megastars of harness racing in the form of Expensive Ego and King of Swing.
But the BetDeluxe crew has found a pacer at big each-way odds that could very well spoil the party.
Triple Eight is a very talented pacer and has run well behind Expensive Ego and King of Swing at this last two starts.
It was his last start effort that really had the green light flashing above his head saying ‘back me next start’ after facing a tough task from the second row but doing well enough to finish third.
From a much softer gate draw, champion driver Greg Sugars can camp himself one or two pairs back from the leaders and conserve all this gelding’s energy for late in the race.
Suggested Bet: Triple Eight each-way at $16 the win and $3.1 the place.
