Moonee Valley Preview & Best Bets - Saturday January 21
Gold Coast Preview & Best Bets – Thursday January 19
Gold Coast Tips 19/01/2023
Our form expert provides Gold Coast tips for today’s horse racing at Gold Coast Racecourse and gives his best bets.
BEST BET 🏆
Race 6: No.1 KING OF SPARTA ($1.90 with Palmerbet)
The Team Snowden-trained KING OF SPARTA only has to contend with a wide gate here and if successful, he looks the one they have to beat in the million-dollar event. Last start, the I Am Invincible gelding came off an 18-week spell and on fresh legs and gave his rivals a galloping lesson in the Listed Falvelon Quality Hcp (1200m) at Doomben. Posting the fastest final 800m to 200m sectionals for the race, he ran a blistering last 600m, covering that, 10.5 lengths quicker than benchmark, the best in this field. His resume shows he has rain affected experience with two wins and three minor placings from 11 previous starts on soft tracks. Already a two-time winner when second-up, he has James McDonald reuniting with him for this contest who boasts a 27% success rate with the Snowden stable and it will take one very smart galloper to beat him here.
NEXT BEST 🥈
Race 3: No. 13 SKIRT THE LAW ($6.50 with Ladbrokes)
As luck would have it, we have a black-booker lining-up here for the big one and all going well, SKIRT THE LAW has the runs on the board to take out MM Classic. Last start, the Tony Gollan-trained filly franked her first-up effort by putting daylight between herself and the rest of the field as she crossed the line more than five lengths ahead the rest in a Two-Year-Old Hcp over 1200m at Doomben on a Soft 7 that day. In second gear most of the way, the filly (for the second time), led from barrier to box and posted the fastest final 800m to 200m sectionals in the process. She has never seen the whip and as yet has not seen the back-end of another runner. This is, by far, her biggest test, however the same can be said for the rest of the field. We listed her as a ‘black-booker’ after that second start and now might be the time to cash-in. The wet conditions today shouldn’t hamper her at all after that last-start win and ideally drawn in gate four, she maps to settle on speed and should prove hard to run down in the conditions.
BEST VALUE 💰
Race 5: No.6 BAROSSA ROSA ($7.50 with Neds)
Unbeaten this time in, Wyong visitor BAROSSA ROSA looks well placed here to bring up the hat-trick today. Last start, the Adelaide mare made it back-to-back victories when she hung on to claim first prize in the Nudgee (a Listed event) over 1200m at Doomben. She ran it out, 4.6 lengths quicker than benchmark, a new personal best and third-best behind Diamonds here (who jumps from the car park in gate 16). The five-year-old ran the 1200m in a slick 1:08.9, a big effort when second-up. Jim Byrne sticks with her here and from gate seven, she maps to settle right behind the speed. Four of her six career victories have come on rain affected tracks so conditions look ideal today. A trouble-free run here could see the mare make it three-straight.
