Ballarat Preview & Best Bets – Thursday October 20
Our form expert provides Ballarat tips for today’s horse racing at Ballarat Racecourse and gives his best bets.
Ballarat Tips 20/10/2022
BEST BET 🏆/ MULTI ANCHOR ⚓
Race 1 No. 7 WONDERFUL TONIGHT- ($1.55)
Skinny price but unless WONDERFUL TONIGHT drifts dramatically I would be popping her into some multi’s. The Team Hawkes galloper resumes from a long break but was impressive on debut last year when 3rd behind Zouzarella and Zapateo, who have gone on to bigger and better things. The daughter of I Am Invincible settled back that day and was held up before letting down well to finish within a length of the winner. No trial form but Jye McNeil rides and he partnered her on debut.
NEXT BEST 🥈
Race 8 No. 9 STARLEA- ($8)
The fillies and mares tackle a BenchMark 64 over the 1000m and STARLEA can kick off her preparation with a win. The four-year-old was solid in some city races at her last preparation after claiming her Maiden at Benalla. She was placed three times before producing an eye-catching run in a BenchMark 78 at Caulfield over the 1100m before spelling. The Matthew Ellerton-trained galloper produced some tidy figures in the majority of her runs last time, including when placing first up at Bendigo. Lia Riordan rides and has provided a 54% profit on turnover when combining with the stable.
BEST VALUE 💰(EACH-WAY)
Race 5 No. 3 DAY IN HEAVEN- ($11)
DAY IN HEAVEN can go close in Race 5 after a solid debut effort that saw her run 4th behind Gargantuan at Geelong on September 22 over the 1347m. The Matt Laurie-trained galloper settled handy that day and was posted three wide without cover but stuck on gamely. The winner has since gone close to winning a Saturday race in Adelaide. Day In Heaven went 0.2 lengths slower than standard, which are the best last start figures of any runner and the second best that any horse in this race has produced. Any improvement should see her hard to beat, despite drawing wide for this.
