Wodonga Racing Tips Sept 15 — Can Widdison Strike Twice?
Belmont Park Racing Tips Sep 16 — Can Pike Rule Again?
Overview
W Pike doesn’t need much invitation to win at Belmont Park, and today he arrives with two rides that both carry a live claim. The champion jockey has piled up 170 rides at this circuit, a third of them winners and well over half of them placegetters, and when trainer Michael Grantham legs him up specifically, that combination has struck at just under 47 per cent from 30 runs on this track. That’s the thread running hardest through Wednesday’s three-race card, but it isn’t the only one worth following. These Belmont Park racing tips also lean on a maiden where one runner has simply out-placed the rest of the opposition, and a Class 1 handicap where the top two in-form runners have barely missed the frame all winter. Three races, turf underfoot, and plenty to work through below, including who to back, who to watch, and where the market looks generous. It’s a short card by most metropolitan standards, but a short card still rewards the reader who does the work, and there’s enough separation in the data across these three fields to back real opinions rather than guesses.
What Belmont Park gives us today
It’s a light program by Belmont Park standards, three races across the afternoon starting just before 2pm, two markers over the 1312m and a sprint handicap over the 1094m to finish. Two of the three are maidens carrying big, sparsely-raced fields, which limits how much course form there is to lean on. The exception is the jockeys’ room. Belmont Park is W Pike’s home track in every sense that matters, and the strike-rate gap between him and the chasing pack is the standout number on the card. The turf surface hasn’t thrown up anything unusual leading into today, and with two maidens carrying full fields the tempo in those races will largely be dictated by whoever’s willing to lead rather than by the track itself.
Limited course form across the maiden fields – most runners in the first two races have a start or two here at best – but three runners do carry a genuine sample: Call Me Invincible has been to the track four times, Win For Buster three, and Admire Belle three. None has won yet, but two of the three have hit the frame close to half the time they’ve turned up.
| Horse | Runs | Wins | Places | Win% | Place% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Call Me Invincible | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0.0% | 50.0% |
| Win For Buster | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0.0% | 33.3% |
| Admire Belle | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | 0.0% |
The jockeys’ table tells a clearer story. W Pike sits well clear of the rest of today’s riding list on both counts, and Chris Parnham is the only other genuine standout.
| Jockey | Runs | Wins | Places | Win% | Place% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W Pike | 170 | 56 | 100 | 32.9% | 58.8% |
| Chris Parnham | 104 | 20 | 48 | 19.2% | 46.2% |
| Natika Riordan | 88 | 5 | 27 | 5.7% | 30.7% |
| Jade McNaught | 45 | 0 | 13 | 0.0% | 28.9% |
| S Parnham | 118 | 5 | 34 | 4.2% | 28.8% |
| B Parnham | 133 | 11 | 33 | 8.3% | 24.8% |
| Chanel Cooper | 79 | 5 | 19 | 6.3% | 24.1% |
| Austin Galati | 42 | 6 | 10 | 14.3% | 23.8% |
Race-by-race
Race 1: Work Amongst The Raceday Action – Perth Racing Recruiting Now Mdn – 1:49pm, 1312m
Call Me Invincible has been knocking on the door for a while and this looks like as good a chance as any to get through it. The card reads 5-5-3-2-4-2, three placings from its last six runs and a form line that’s been trending the right way, and it arrives with genuine track experience most of this field can’t match: four runs at Belmont Park for two placings and an average finishing position around third. Trainer N D Parnham and rider S Parnham aren’t flashy numbers at this track individually, but volume and familiarity count for something in a field this green, and the draw one gives options.
Win For Buster is the one to respect. The form is untidy – 2-9-7-9-3-6 – but D R Harrison has a strong record at Belmont Park, over a third of his runners placing here, and Austin Galati’s 14 per cent win rate from the saddle is one of the better numbers on today’s jockey list. If Call Me Invincible’s ceiling is a touch higher, Win For Buster’s floor might be the safer one.
Worth a mention: Roger, unraced on paper, picks up the big-name booking with W Pike aboard. There’s nothing in the form to assess him on independently, but that’s the kind of booking that sometimes means more than the blank line suggests. Not a bet, just a watch.
Ten go around here and the weights are tightly bunched at the top, which usually means the speed types get first crack and the swoopers need luck in running to get out. Call Me Invincible’s gate one lets S Parnham dictate its own path rather than get caught up in traffic, which matters more in a field this size than it would in a smaller one.
Win bet on Call Me Invincible, with Win For Buster the each-way cover if you want the race boxed.
Race 2: Morley Growers Market Mdn – 2:24pm, 1312m
Michael Grantham doesn’t send ordinary types out for W Pike, and today he does exactly that with Treasured Legacy. The numbers behind the booking are hard to look past: 30 runs together at Belmont Park have produced a win rate near 47 per cent and a placing better than seven times in ten, and the pairing has been among the winners as recently as last Saturday. The debut run – ninth – won’t excite anyone reading the form on its own, but this reads like a placement rather than a punt, and horses often find markedly more the second time they race.
Rocking In Vegas is the more grounded case for the win. Its card runs 6-2-3-2-8-3, four placings from six starts, and it already has a Belmont run banked – third on debut here. Kirsten Melis and Taj Dyson aren’t the standout combination on the card, but the horse has shown up when it mattered, which is more than most of this field can claim.
Eleven runners is a crowd for a maiden this shallow on genuine form, and most of the rest of the field is racing on debut or has managed one run without troubling the judge. That leaves this largely a two-way conversation between the proven placegetter and the well-bred second starter with the big-name jockey aboard.
Each-way on Rocking In Vegas for the more consistent profile, with a small saver on Treasured Legacy if you like the booking as much as the numbers suggest you should.
Race 3: Drummond Golf Hcp (C1) – 2:59pm, 1094m
Seven go around in the best betting race of the meeting, and the shape of it suits the horse that can dictate from on-pace – which is exactly where Joyoh wants to be. It has placed in both its starts at Belmont Park, winning one of them, and the wider form reads 1-7-2-3-6-2 across its last six runs, a genuine pattern of racing on or near the speed and rarely missing the frame. Between Joyoh and the second elect Star Martini, the pair have combined for four placings including a win from four runs in the past three months, finishing no worse than second in all but one of them. Natasha Faithfull’s numbers at the track are modest rather than spectacular, but she’s ridden here 90 times and knows how the track plays, and trainer E A Martinovich’s Belmont record – a third of his runners placing – adds a little more support.
Star Martini is the danger and arguably the more interesting improver. The card runs 9-4-7-2-1-2, a horse that has gone from also-ran to genuine contender across its last three starts, and it carries the lightest weight in the race at 116.8kg. Jason Li’s numbers at the course are thin in volume but positive in shape – a 10 per cent win rate and a 20 per cent place rate from ten rides – and trainer J P Taylor has been steady rather than spectacular here. If the tempo goes on early and Joyoh has to work for the lead, Star Martini’s finishing sectionals could be the difference.
Wiluna Lass rounds out the each-way shortlist. It placed on its only Belmont Park start and the card – 3-2-4-6-2 – is a consistent one even without a win in it, and Josh Brown’s numbers at the track are among the better trainer figures on show today.
Espinho is the one keeping this an open race rather than a two- or three-horse affair. The card – 3-3-4-4-6 – is consistent without being spectacular, and trainer C & M Gangemi’s Belmont Park record is one of the stronger ones on the entire card, over a third of his runners placing from more than fifty starts here. Not the top selection, but not one to leave out of exotics either.
Win bet on Joyoh, each-way cover on Wiluna Lass if you’re playing the race for placings, and keep Star Martini safe in exotics.
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The plays
Joyoh is the NAP. It’s the one runner on the card with course form that actually points somewhere – placed both times it’s raced at Belmont Park, on-pace enough to dictate terms in a seven-horse field, and backed by recent figures that show barely a bad run in the last three months.
Treasured Legacy is the value, for anyone prepared to look past a ninth-placed debut. W Pike and Michael Grantham have combined for close to half their runners winning at this circuit, and odds weren’t yet locked in when this went to print – check the market before race time, because a booking this strong rarely goes unnoticed for long.
Call Me Invincible is the banker for multis: the most consistent placegetter in the opener, with genuine track miles under it and a manageable draw.
Wiluna Lass is the each-way play, a horse that keeps finding the frame without much fuss and gets its chance in the more suitable, form-rich race of the day.
The course angle worth following past today: when W Pike gets specifically booked by a Belmont Park stable, take notice. If he keeps riding at this strike rate every time he’s here, he’ll be the standing angle for this track every meeting, not just this one.
Best Bookmakers for Today’s Racing
Odds weren’t locked in across the major bookmakers when this article was prepared, so it’s worth shopping around closer to the first race. The list below is a good starting point for comparing markets on today’s Belmont Park card.
Ladbrokes Review [Updated March 2026] | Ladbrokes.com.au Pros & Cons
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FAQ
What time does racing start at Belmont Park today?
The first race, the Work Amongst The Raceday Action Mdn, jumps at 1:49pm, with the card wrapping up with the Drummond Golf Hcp at 2:59pm.
Who are the top trainers and jockeys at Belmont Park today?
W Pike is clear of the rest on the jockeys’ table, with 170 rides at the track producing a win rate near 33 per cent and a place rate near 59 per cent. Among the trainers represented today, Michael Grantham’s overall course record – just under 20 per cent winners and almost 34 per cent placegetters from 103 runners – is the strongest, and it climbs further whenever he specifically books Pike.
What are the best bets at Belmont Park today?
Joyoh in the Drummond Golf Hcp is the pick of the day off two placed runs at the track, with Call Me Invincible in the opener the safer banker for multis.
Where can I find the best odds for Belmont Park races?
Markets on today’s card weren’t fully priced when this was written, so compare bookmakers closer to race time using the list above rather than locking in early.
Is there a value play at Belmont Park today?
Treasured Legacy in Race 2 is the one for value hunters – a below-par debut but a jockey-trainer booking in W Pike and Michael Grantham that has struck at nearly 47 per cent together at this track.
