Ballarat Preview & Best Bets – 14/02/2024

Our form expert provides tips for today’s Ballarat horse racing at Ballarat Racecourse and gives his best bets.    

Ballarat Tips 14/02/2024

BEST BET 🏆   

Race 1 No. 6 IGOTCHA ($2.40) 

IGOTCHA should be hard to beat in the opener. The Ciaron Maher-trained galloper made her return to racing at Sandown on January 24 in a BenchMark 64, producing the fastest last 200m over the 1400m distance to finish 3rd behind Bold Manner. Form from that has held up with two winners coming out of it, including the runner-up, who has since taken out a BenchMark 70. 

NEXT BEST 🥈   

Race 3 No. 5 RANK’N’FILE ($8) 

RANK’N’FILE is worth a bit of thought in Race 3 after showing improvement at his second career run. That came at Sale on January 23 and he settled handy to stick on well for 3rd. The Team Hayes-trained galloper went 3.7 lengths slower than standard, which is better than the class average as well as any figure that the contenders in this race have produced. He should be ready at his third start. 

NEXT BEST 🥈   

Race 4 No. 5 INTO YOU ($7) 

Nice debut by INTO YOU, despite doing a few things wrong. She steps out for her second outing and should improve after placing 3rd behind La Casona over the 1300m at Sandown. She began slowly and overrraced before racing greenly when chasing. But the daughter of No Nay Never was good enough to run into the minors. A firmer in the early betting, she is worth some thought here. 

BEST VALUE 💰   

Race 8 No.17 TIFFANY VALENTINE ($10) 

Hoping the fourth emergency, TIFFANY VALENTINE, can sneak into the field in Race 8. The four-year-old looks to have come back in good order this time around, claiming a Benchmark 64 in impressive fashion when resuming before rising to this grade on January 31 at Sandown and landing in the runner-up slot behind Master Montaro. She was held up at the top of the straight before running on. The Philip Stokes-trained galloper should be nearing her peak third up and just needs to overcome the wide barrier.