Nine races greet us for the best bets at Cranbourne on Friday night.
With the rail positioned out in the three-metre position from the 1000-metre mark to the finish line, expect horses who can control the race in the lead or on pace to be advantaged.
Cranbourne race 1
#3 Holy Spirit
Three jump-outs in preparation for this first-up run over 1300 metres should have Holy Spirit fit enough to run a big race.
The Mick Kent-trained galloper looked in good order during her most recent jump out over 1000 metres and looks to have back a horse well and truly capable of becoming a winner.
She draws a very soft barrier and we expect her to be settling nice and handy in the run.
Her maiden form last preparation was either on heavy tracks or in unsuitable races with a poor barrier draw.
Looks like a great each-way chance in the first event.
Suggested Bet: Holy Spirit each-way at $5.5 the win and $2.1 the place
Suggested Exotic: Boxed Trifecta – 1, 3, 4
cranbourne race 4
#6 Sonofthebeast
Sonofthebeast looks ready to win after a very strong debut over 1400 metres.
The Trent Bussutin & Natalie Young-trained three-year-old gelding was nutted out of a photo finish victory by a very smart three-year-old from the Maher & Eustace camp.
Really like the way he kept surging to the line in what was a fast-run maiden event at this course over 1400 metres.
He now rises up to 1600 metres and draws the pole, which means he will very likely ascertain a front-running role.
If he can jump cleanly and settle in the first four, he is the one to beat.
Any improvement on what he did last start will see him very hard to get past.
Suggested Bet: Sonofthebeast win at $3
cranbourne race 5
#7 zourisky
As far as debuts over 1400 metres go, they do not come quite much better than what we saw from Zourisky at Mornington on New Year’s Day.
The three-year-old filly from the Peter Moody barn skipped along in the lead and was never headed as she charged away to win by nearly two lengths.
She had to do a little bit of work in the run to get across to the rail from the wide barrier, but she showed great stamina to keep up her stride and put her rivals away.
Assuming she derives natural fitness benefit from the run, we expect an improvement of anywhere between two to four lengths on what she did last start.
If that occurs here, she is a huge winning chance from simple barrier in an average BM-58 race.
Considering her rating is higher than the grade restriction, she gets in at weights beautifully.
Suggested Bet: Zourisky win at $3
Suggested Exotic: Quinella 6 & 7
cranbourne race 7
#2 skyt
Skyt has been building towards a big run over these staying trips and gets into this race with a strong fitness base.
He is now fourth-up from his spell and looks to get control of the race, which is exactly what he needs to be hard to run down.
From the wide barrier, expect Jordan Childs to push forward and get the lead on a track that favours horses which press towards the front.
Would be a surprise if anything took him on for the front, so he might be able to get away with some cheap sectionals up front in order to save the pennies for later in the race.
Suggested Bet: Skyt win at $4.4
