Doomben Preview & Best Bets - Saturday February 11
New Zealand Preview & Best Bets – Saturday February 11
New Zealand Tips 11/02/2023
Our form expert provides New Zealand tips for Saturday’s horse racing at Te Rapa & Riccarton Racecourses and gives his best bets.
TE RAPA
BEST BET 🏆
Race 8: No.5 IMPERATRIZ ($3.40 with Ladbrokes)
The bagmen have this contest down as a three-horse war as we run with the Mark Walker-trained IMPERATRIZ (who is unbeaten in starts) to take home the trophy. Last start, the I Am Invincible mare made it back-to-back wins for this campaign when she took out the Group 2 Westbury Classic over 1400m at Pukekohe Park. With Opie Bosson aboard, she carried the 59kgs comfortably to win by a length on the line. Shooting for the hat-trick here, she is a two-time winner when third-up and unbeaten at the track after four starts at the Te Rapa track. Bosson retains the ride after steering her to five wins from his seven rides to date. She gets all the favours from gate one and will take catching here.
NEXT BEST 🥈
Race 6: No.9 SHARP ‘N’ SMART ($3.40 with bet365)
The Team Rogerson-trained SHARP ‘N’ SMART is second-up here and ticks enough boxes to be considered one of the main chances in this contest. Last start, the Redwood gelding was resuming off his close-up second in the Group 1 VRC Victoria Derby when he impressed again, beating all bur one home in the Group 1 Thorndon Mile on a heavy track at Trentham. Settling second early, he stuck to his guns and fought on well to be beaten less than a length on the line. Unbeaten in two previous second-up runs, and boasts three top-two finishes at Group 1 level, he looks the testing material in this event.
RICCARTON PARK
BEST BET 🏆
Race 6: No.3 AMBERECHO ($2.80 with Ladbrokes)
The Team Parsons-trained AMBERECHO is third-up here and looks poised to bounce back to the winner’s circle in this contest. Last start, the Echoes Of Heaven mare came off a good win in BM84 company when she finished mid-field in an Open Class Hcp over 1200m at Wingatui. She was hampered badly in the mid-stages by a rider-less horse which cost her any chance of winning. The run is best forgotten. She gets a 3kgs weight discount here from last start and has Kylie Williams sticking with her (who has won twice previously with the mare). She is on a seven-day back-up here with Burgundy Rose appearing to be her main danger in the race. Placed three times from three previous third-up appearances, she will strip fitter for two runs back and looks a prime contender here.
NEXT BEST 🥈
Race 9: No.12 MIA SORELLA ($6.50 with Unibet)
The locally-trained MIA SORELLA is in top-shelf form this time in and down in the weights here, looks right in the mix for a third-straight victory. Last start, the four-year-old mare made it back-to- back wins when she clobbered a 15-strong field in a BM65 Hcp, here over 1400m. Returning to the turf track (after a hat-trick of podium finishes on the synthetic surface), she jumped from gate ten and still made it look easy, winning that event by 2.5 lengths on the line. Her nine career starts to date have resulted in no less than eight top-three finishes as she takes her place here in line for the hat-trick. Lisa Allpress returns for the ride after steering her to a mammoth four-length victory two starts back. She is in the zone this time in and looks in the mix here at odds.
