Flight Stakes Results & Replays
Caulfield Guineas Tips & Preview 2022
Looking for Caulfield Guineas tips and best bets? We dissect times and form to find the winner of the 2022 Caulfield Guineas at Caulfield.
CAULFIELD GUINEAS BETTING SNAPSHOT
It is the Golden Rose (1400m) 4th placegetter, Golden Mile, that heads the market with NEDS after the barrier draw as a $3.60 favourite ahead of the Exford Plate (1400m) winner, Berkeley Square, at $5.
Those two are the only out of the 16 horse field and two emergencies that are in single figures. The Stutt Stakes (1600m) winner, Tijuana is at $10, are both at $10, while Amenable and Elliptical are at $12. Meridius is a $15 shot, while Bank Maur heads the rest at $19.
CAULFIELD GUINEAS FORM ANALYSIS
Golden Mile drew wide in the Golden Rose in a race that set up well for the swoopers with Jacquinot storming home to defeat In Secret. The Godolphin galloper had previously claimed the Group 3 Ming Dynasty Quality (1400m) at Rosehill by more than three lengths.
At his first up run, the son of Astern produced the fastest last 600m in the Up And Coming Stakes (1300m) at Rosehill on what was the worst part of the Soft track to finish runner-up.
He is a chance of getting Soft conditions on Saturday with a stack of rain predicted for Melbourne in the 72 course before the Guineas. At his debut, he was a Soft track winner.
In the Golden Rose, Golden Mile went 8.7 lengths faster than standard benchmark, which are the second best figures that any horse in this race has ever produced. Millane also comes out of the Golden Rose and had a stack of excuses when 8th, beaten just under four lengths.
Best benchmark figures that any horse has produced belong to the $41 shot, Skyphios. He resumes after taking out a Super VOBIS 2YO race at Flemington ahead of the luckless Quang Tri.
Berkeley Square has won three of four and is likely to need to register a personal best after going 3.5 lengths faster than standard when claiming the Exford at Flemington. But that was off a slow tempo and he gives the impression that he has plenty of talent as he overcame difficulties in the run that day.
That form has been franked with Tijuana, who was 3rd that day. The Ben & JD Hayes-trained colt has since come out and claimed the Stutt Stakes (1600m) at Moonee Valley, going 8.6 lengths faster than standard benchmark. Foujita San was runner-up in the Stutt Stakes.
I am not discounting the Caulfield Guineas Prelude (1400m) form either. Meridius was well beaten in that race by Aft Cabin, who would have been favourite if he was able to make it to the Caulfield Guineas.
Meridius produced the fastest last 400m to go 3.7 lengths faster than standard. He beat home Millane at his start prior at Moonee Valley with that horse unlucky in the Golden Rose. Amenable was 3rd in the Guineas Prelude, while Sir Bailey was 4th. The Chris Waller-trained Osipenko was 7th and didn’t seem to handle the Heavy track. He can be an improver on better ground but might not get that. Lethal Thoughts ran 9th.
Can a contender come out of another lead up? Bank Maur took advantage of a slow tempo at Sandown on September 25 to score over the 1400m ahead of The Fortune Teller. Elliptical rocketed home for 4th and might be the improver out to the 1600m. He was no match for Berkeley Square prior to that at Flemington.
Elkington Road could be a bit of a bolter and has won his two starts, the latest of which was a BenchMark 64.
CAULFIELD GUINEAS TIPS AND BEST BETS
Hard to knock the Golden Rose form. The Sydney lead up has produced three of the past four winners of the Caulfield Guineas, including Anamoe last year. The others were Ole Kirk and The Autumn Sun. Is Royal Mile as good as those? This years edition of the Golden Rose was solid and there is a lot to like about the Godolphin galloper, who will be out to emulate the efforts of his stablemate last year. He won’t need to work as hard this time from barrier 3. If we do end up with a dry track I will be keeping an eye on the betting for Osipenko, while I wouldn’t mind seeing how the Sandown form plays out, despite the poor overall figures. Elliptical is one to watch from that race.
