Rockhampton Preview & Best Bets – Thursday November 17

Rockhampton Tips 17/11/2022

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

BEST BET 🏆

Race 4:  No.2  WAY BACK WHEN ($3.20 with Palmerbet)

Local galloper WAY BACK WHEN is in sensational form this time in and lines up here looking a serious chance of bringing up the hat-trick today. Last start, the Redoute’s Choice gelding was second-up when he went back-to-back by taking out a BM58 Hcp, here over the mile. He won by more than a length that day as he covered his final 600m, 5.6 lengths quicker than benchmark, the best last-start effort in this company. Ryan Wiggins drove him to the line on that occasion and sticks with him here for this assignment. Meeting similar company over the same trip, he goes to the gates as the one to beat today.

NEXT BEST 🥈

Race 7:  No.2  XANTHUS  ($4.40 with Palmerbet)

Local trainer Jared Wehlow saddles-up XANTHUS here who is having his second start for this stable and going by his debut performance, he should prove hard to beat here. Last start, the Better Than Ready gelding came off a 15-week break and making his stable debut, clobbered a BM70 field over 1100m at Mackay. With Ash Butler in the saddle, he carried a half kilo over his allocated weight that day which (clearly) made no difference to the end result as the six-year-old newcomer gave his opposition a real galloping lesson that day. Seeing his new home track for the first time today, he looks a promising galloper with a good future on Nth Qld tracks and looks in the mix here for back-to-back victories.

BEST VALUE 💰 

Race 8:  No.5  BETTER TO EXCEL  ($8.50 with bet365) 

Local galloper BETTER TO EXCEL has had mixed success this preparation but back on his home track today he looks well placed to figure in the finish here. Last start, the Better Than Ready gelding bounced back from an unplaced run to beat all but one home in a BM55 Hcp over 1100m at Mackay. In a slowly run affair, he set a new personal best, covering the trip, 8.3 lengths slower than benchmark, still the best effort in this line-up. He also posted the fastest final 600m, 400m and 200m sectionals for the race. Les Tilley steered him to his maiden victory, here four starts back and is back on board here for today’s challenge. He gets the gun-run from gate three today where he maps to be box-seating on settling. If he gets his way from there, he should be threatening to take this out at some stage and looks a good each-way ticket in this contest.