Eagle Farm Preview & Best Bets – 08/05/2024

Eagle Farm Tips for Wednesday, May 8

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

BEST BET 🏆

Race 4:  No.3  TALK TIME

The Lindsay Hatch-trained TALK TIME has picked up where he left off from his last campaign, and firing on all cylinders, looks the one to beat in this contest. Last start, the Spill The Beans gelding came off a huge second-up win at Ipswich when he faced a BM70 on this track. Drawn out that day (in gate 12 of 15), he was never on the track and too far back to threaten when he still finished strongly enough to grab second prize that day. With all going against him, he still finished within half a length of the winner in the 1400m event. His biggest test here in the step up in distance but his last-start effort suggests he should handle it. Fourth-up and at his peak today, he draws much better in gate four and with Andrew Mallyon sticking with him, he looks the testing material.

NEXT BEST 🥈

Race 8:  No.2  LOOSE UNIT

Stuart Kendrick’s ever-consistent galloper, LOOSE UNIT is third-up today and looks well placed to make his Eagle Farm debut a winning one. Last start, the Shalaa gelding faced his first heavy track and handled it well, beating all but one home in a Class 1 Hcp over 1400m at the Sunshine Coast. With Ryan Maloney aboard, he finished strongly to get within a whisker of victory that day. Maloney sticks with him here as he draws gate seven and maps to settle better than mid-field with cover. Whilst having just one victory to his name (from 17 starts), he has found the podium on no less than 13 other occasions (putting him into the Tom Melbourne category, but he gets his chance here to bring up win number two today.

BEST VALUE 💰 

Race 9:  No.3  HANG FIVE 

We end the day with one at great odds as the O’Dea and Hoysted team saddle-up HANG FIVE here who ticks enough boxes to suggest he is way ‘overs’ in a contest of this nature. Last start, the well-bred Astern gelding was second-up when he raced on a Heavy 8 at the Sunshine Coast and did enough to win the Class 3 event over 1200m. Justin Huxtable has his sixth ride on the galloper that day and despite being trapped three-wide (without cover), he drove the four-year-old to the line and arrived in time to collect the winner’s cheque. He is already a winner when third-up (in fact, he hasn’t missed a top-three finish in three appearances when third-up) and is a two-time winner on the Eagle Farm track. Huxtable sticks with him today and (currently) the double-figure odds on offer here look more than generous and he is certainly worth an each-way ticket in this contest.