Warwick Farm Racing Tips Sep 23: Can Sky Deck Win Again?
Eagle Farm Racing Tips Sept 23: Gollan-Thompson Too Hot?
Overview
Ben Thompson doesn’t need a program to know where he’s going at Eagle Farm this spring — he won there four days ago, and the trainer who keeps putting him up, T J Gollan, has four runners engaged on today’s card. That combination sits underneath our best bet in Race 4, and it’s the thread worth pulling on all afternoon. These Eagle Farm racing tips cover four races on the Spring Carnival program, from a thin three-year-old maiden to a form-heavy benchmark 65, and the aim below is simple: tell you who we like, why, and what we’d actually do with our money.
What Eagle Farm gives us today
Building today’s Eagle Farm racing tips starts with the shape of the card: four races, all on the turf, running from a 1640m three-year-old maiden through to a 1094m sprint to close. It’s not a huge book, but there’s substance in it — a couple of well-placed favourites from powerful stables, a genuinely hot jockey-trainer partnership, and one horse that’s found the frame every single time it’s raced this year without ever quite winning.
Limited course form across today’s fields — most runners have one or two starts at Eagle Farm, so we’re leaning on recent form, stable strength and the riders who know this track rather than deep course-and-distance stats for the horses themselves.
The jockey numbers tell a clearer story. Jai Williams isn’t engaged often at Eagle Farm but wins at a rate few can match when he is, and Ben Thompson’s volume backs up his record as the rider to want on your side when the money’s down.
| Jockey | Runs | Wins | Places | Win% | Place% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jai Williams | 32 | 12 | 17 | 37.5% | 53.1% |
| Ben Thompson | 163 | 35 | 75 | 21.5% | 46.0% |
| Emily Pozman | 7 | 1 | 3 | 14.3% | 42.9% |
| Martin Harley | 32 | 4 | 13 | 12.5% | 40.6% |
| Jace Mcmurray | 91 | 10 | 35 | 11.0% | 38.5% |
| Courtney Bellamy | 26 | 1 | 10 | 3.8% | 38.5% |
| Taylor Marshall | 56 | 5 | 19 | 8.9% | 33.9% |
On the training side, T J Gollan isn’t just the volume leader here, he’s the standout on rate too — 287 runners at the track for 47 winners and a place in nearly half his starters. He’s also the trainer with the most runners engaged today, spread across the last two races.
| Trainer | Runs | Wins | Places | Win% | Place% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T J Gollan | 287 | 47 | 133 | 16.4% | 46.3% |
| Chris & Corey Munce | 80 | 4 | 32 | 5.0% | 40.0% |
| C J Waller | 122 | 15 | 48 | 12.3% | 39.3% |
| K M Schweida | 72 | 7 | 25 | 9.7% | 34.7% |
| Barry Lockwood & Emma-Jane Vincent | 26 | 3 | 9 | 11.5% | 34.6% |
| Matthew Hoysted | 41 | 5 | 13 | 12.2% | 31.7% |
| R L Heathcote | 107 | 10 | 32 | 9.4% | 29.9% |
| Annabel Neasham & Rob Archibald | 65 | 6 | 15 | 9.2% | 23.1% |
Best Bookmakers for Today’s Racing
Compare markets before you bet — especially in the maidens today, where prices can move sharply once trackside money starts talking. These are the operators we’d check first for the best Eagle Farm odds.
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Race by race
Race 1: Spring Racing Carnival On Sale Now Mdn Plate — 1:33pm, 1640m
Can either of the two well-bred debutants in this field beat a horse that simply keeps finding the frame? That’s the question at the heart of a modest three-year-old maiden. Win Star has been racing without much fuss — three runs this campaign, no wins, but two places and an average finishing position of 3.33, and he drops back to a track where his jockey Martin Harley knows how to get one over the line at 40.6% of the time he rides here. From barrier 2, there’s no reason he can’t roll forward and make his own luck over 1640m.
The danger is Great Times Ahead, resuming for C J Waller after finishing fifth on debut. Waller’s own numbers at Eagle Farm are genuine — 15 wins and 48 places from 122 runners — but it’s worth noting his partnership with rider Ben Thompson has been quieter than those raw stable figures suggest, just one win from 11 rides together at this track. That tempers the case for backing the stable name alone. Ander’s Dream is the each-way fill-in, with a placing from three runs this time in but nothing that screams above these rivals.
Small stakes only here. Win Star each-way, and leave the debutants to prove it on the track first.
Race 2: Sky Racing Mdn Plate — 2:08pm, 1969m
Annabel Neasham and Rob Archibald send two runners out for this 1969m maiden, and both have been doing the one thing that matters most in a race like this — getting into the money. Kowloon Magnate has started five times recently and finished in the placings all five, for an average finishing position of 2.4. He still hasn’t broken through for a win, which is the obvious question mark, but a horse running into the frame at that rate across five genuine starts is knocking on the door rather than treading water. Stepping out to 1969m from barrier 6 shouldn’t trouble a stayer with this profile.
Stablemate Maremoto is the other side of the same coin — five runs, three placings, a 3.6 average finish, slightly less consistent but drawn to get a similar run in transit from barrier 4. If the transition to this trip doesn’t suit Kowloon Magnate for whatever reason, Maremoto is the one who beats him.
Back Kowloon Magnate for the win, with Maremoto in an exacta underneath. If the market’s still pricing him as an also-ran because he hasn’t saluted yet, that’s the value in this race.
Race 3: Xxxx Gold (Bm65) — 2:43pm, 1312m
Breezin’ has been building a case for a while now — a win and two placings from her last three starts, and she gets the rider who makes this profile hard to ignore. Jai Williams isn’t a name that turns up in every Eagle Farm field, but when he does, he wins better than a third of the time and finishes in the money in better than half his rides at this track, numbers built on a genuine sample of 32 runs. Trainer Darren P Bell’s own course record is unremarkable on paper, but Williams is doing the heavy lifting here, and from barrier 6 in a field of eight he should get the sit he needs over 1312m.
The danger comes from a horse with the shortest but sweetest resume on the card. Pearls In June has had exactly one run at Eagle Farm and won it, a single data point rather than a trend, but she backs it up with recent form reading 4-5371 — a horse clearly building towards its peak. Trainer B J Smith and jockey Taylor Marshall aren’t headline names, but the horse is doing the talking. Elsewhere, Ready For Aimee gives T J Gollan another chance in this field off a solid recent record — one win and two places from her last four — though she’s up against the two above on ability.
This looks the most winnable race on the card for a confident opinion, so it earns the biggest stake. Back Breezin’ to win, with Pearls In June the each-way saver if you want to cover the debut-form runner-up.
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18+ T&C’s Apply. What are you really gambling with? Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a Deposit Limit For free and confidential support call 1800 858 858 or visit gamblinghelponline.org.au
18+ T&C’s Apply. What are you really gambling with? Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a Deposit Limit For free and confidential support call 1800 858 858 or visit gamblinghelponline.org.au
Race 4: Pink Ribbon Raceweek Mdn Plate — 3:18pm, 1094m
Whatever price Final Crusade opens at, it’s likely to undersell what’s happening between T J Gollan and Ben Thompson right now. The pair have combined for 13 wins from 42 rides together at Eagle Farm, a 64.3% strike rate for hitting the placings, and Thompson rode a winner for the stable here as recently as September 19. Final Crusade himself fits the trend — placed in his only run at this track, at a strong average finishing position of 2.0, and two placings from his last four starts overall. The one query is barrier 12 in a field reduced to ten by scratchings, but Thompson has shown all campaign he can angle a horse forward from awkward gates when the run of the race demands it.
Buttercup is the each-way threat if the favourite doesn’t salute. Three runs this year, three placings, for an average finishing position of 2.0 — the connections aren’t flashy, trainer J W Healy and rider M Rodd both modest performers at this track, but the horse’s own in-and-under record speaks for itself regardless of who’s steering. Final Crusade to win, Buttercup for the place part of an each-way double if you want to cover both ends.
Where the money goes
These Eagle Farm racing tips come down to five plays worth knowing before the first race jumps.
NAP: Final Crusade (Race 4, 3:18pm). Not because he’s flashy, but because the trainer-jockey partnership behind him is producing winners at Eagle Farm right now, and the horse’s own placing record backs it up.
Value: Kowloon Magnate (Race 2, 2:08pm). Five runs, five placings, zero wins — the market tends to undersell horses that keep just missing, and this one’s overdue.
Banker: Breezin’ (Race 3, 2:43pm), the safest leg for a multi given Jai Williams’s numbers at this track and her own recent form trend.
Each-way: Buttercup (Race 4, 3:18pm) has the best pure place credentials on the card — three from three this year.
Course angle: T J Gollan. Four runners on the card, the best trainer numbers at Eagle Farm of anyone engaged today, and a jockey partnership with Ben Thompson that’s actively rolling right now rather than a stat from three months back.
If Gollan keeps sending them out at Eagle Farm at this clip, backing his colours blind isn’t far from a strategy.
FAQ
What time does racing start at Eagle Farm today?
The first race, the Spring Racing Carnival On Sale Now Mdn Plate over 1640m, jumps at 1:33pm, with four races taking the card through to the last at 3:18pm.
Who are the top trainers and jockeys at Eagle Farm today?
Jai Williams leads the jockey numbers among today’s riders, winning 37.5% of his 32 rides at the track and placing in 53.1%. T J Gollan tops the trainers with 47 wins from 287 runners (a 46.3% placegetter) and has four runners engaged across the card.
What are the best bets at Eagle Farm today?
Final Crusade in Race 4 is the pick of the card. He’s backed by a Gollan-Thompson partnership running at 13 wins from 42 rides together at this track, including a win just four days before this meeting.
Where can I find the best odds for Eagle Farm races?
Live bookmaker odds weren’t available at the time of writing, so compare prices with the operators listed above before you bet, particularly on value runners like Kowloon Magnate where a soft opening quote could be worth taking.
Responsible gambling
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