Canterbury Preview & Best Bets – Friday December 9

Canterbury Tips 9/12/2022

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

BEST BET 🏆

Race 5:  No.2  FIELDING  ($3.80 with Unibet)

The Damien Lane-trained FIELDING boasts eight top-three finishes from his nine career starts to date and looks in line to keep that trend going tonight. Last start, the Deep Field gelding was fresh off a 19-week spell when he missed by a whisker at claiming victory in a BM64 Hcp over 1100m at Warwick Farm. Beaten a nose on the line, he ran a new personal best, covering the trip, 1.6 lengths quicker than benchmark, also the best in this field. Zac Lloyd was aboard that day and sticks with him here. Two previous second-up starts resulted in minor placings and from gate one tonight, he gets all the favours as well. Four previous starts over the 1100m resulted in a win and three runner-up finishes and with a clear run to the line here, he can get the job done.

NEXT BEST 🥈

Race 4:  No.5  SOCRATES  ($4.20 with Palmerbet)

The James Ponsonby-trained SOCRATES has hit a purple patch of form lately and looks well placed here to continue the good work. Last start, the Tavistock gelding came off a winning hat-trick when he lined up in the Taree Cup where he finished third in the 11-strong field. Just prior to that, he had successive wins at Randwick, both in Class 3 company. He sees the Canterbury track for the first time tonight but has Dylan Gibbons returning for the ride and steering him to two of his four previous career successes. He gets the favours from gate two here and in his current form, he lines-up in this event as a serious contender.