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Fannie Bay Racing Tips: Does G Clarke’s Army Deliver?
G Clarke has saddled seven runners across today’s four-race card at Fannie Bay, and three of them go around with J R Todd in the saddle. That’s not a stable dabbling — that’s a trainer backing his team, and Todd gives him plenty of reason to: the pair have combined for 21 wins from 91 rides at this track, a 23% strike rate that ranks among the best of any regular partnership here. Whether that volume translates into today’s card is the question worth asking before a bet goes on. Fannie Bay racing tips this week lean on that Clarke-Todd thread, but the best value on the card sits with a rival stable. Four races, a sand surface, and a program that steps down in trip all afternoon — 1422m, 1312m, 1203m, then 1094m to finish. Read on for the pick in each race, the danger to respect, and where the money’s going.
What Fannie Bay gives us today
This is a compact card — four races, 27 runners between them, first away at 2:11pm and the last at 4:02pm. Every race is run on the sand track over sprint-to-middle trips, and the field sizes shrink as the card goes on: nine runners in the opener, down to five apiece in the last two. That shape matters. Bigger fields mean more traffic and more chances for a swooper to find room late; the smaller fields in races 3 and 4 tend to be run truer and reward the horse with genuine ability rather than the one that gets the run of the race.
G Clarke’s spread of runners is the standout feature of the card — Merimbula in race one, Biden Time in race two, Mr Marrakech and Patriotic King in race three, then Order Online, Tears Are Flowing and Pafitis loaded into the last. Across 154 runs at this track the stable sits on a 17.5% win rate and places better than a third of the time it starts, and that number only sharpens with Todd on board. Chloe Baxter and Philip Cole also have three-plus runners each today, though with very different returns — Baxter has placed better than a third of her runners from 83 starts here, while Cole’s 151 runs have yielded just seven winners. Volume from the Cole stable isn’t the same as market confidence, and it’s worth remembering that before following one of his runners into a short price purely on numbers alone.
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Course form is genuinely useful today because so many of these horses have raced here repeatedly. Pafitis leads the way on place strike rate among the deeper-sample runners, followed closely by Southampton Flare, Sass and Time To Baca. None of that guarantees a winner on its own — Time To Baca is the clearest example, with four placings from seven runs here and not a single win to show for it — but it separates the genuine track types from the ones just making up the numbers.
| Horse | Runs | Wins | Places | Win% | Place% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pafitis | 5 | 1 | 3 | 20.0% | 60.0% |
| Southampton Flare | 7 | 2 | 4 | 28.6% | 57.1% |
| Sass | 7 | 1 | 4 | 14.3% | 57.1% |
| Time To Baca | 7 | 0 | 4 | 0.0% | 57.1% |
| I Loverain | 10 | 2 | 4 | 20.0% | 40.0% |
| Sassy Abbey | 8 | 1 | 3 | 12.5% | 37.5% |
The jockey room backs that up. Deborah Barton and J R Todd top today’s riders on place strike rate at the track, with Billy Cray and S Tsaikos not far behind — all four have ridden here often enough that the numbers mean something.
| Jockey | Runs | Wins | Places | Win% | Place% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deborah Barton | 74 | 11 | 31 | 14.9% | 41.9% |
| J R Todd | 121 | 29 | 50 | 24.0% | 41.3% |
| Billy Cray | 37 | 4 | 15 | 10.8% | 40.5% |
| S Tsaikos | 46 | 7 | 18 | 15.2% | 39.1% |
| Dakota-Lee Gillett | 60 | 7 | 17 | 11.7% | 28.3% |
| MS V Arnott | 48 | 3 | 13 | 6.3% | 27.1% |
| Jessica Booth | 42 | 3 | 10 | 7.1% | 23.8% |
| W R Davis | 101 | 4 | 24 | 4.0% | 23.8% |
On the training front, the same three stables that dominate the entries dominate the ledger, and the gap between them is the story. G Clarke edges it on place rate, Chloe Baxter is close behind with a far smaller runner base, and Philip Cole’s numbers are a reminder that a trainer can send plenty of runners to a track without sending plenty of winners.
| Trainer | Runs | Wins | Places | Win% | Place% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G Clarke | 154 | 27 | 59 | 17.5% | 38.3% |
| Chloe Baxter | 83 | 13 | 31 | 15.7% | 37.4% |
| Philip Cole | 151 | 7 | 37 | 4.6% | 24.5% |
Race by race
Race 1: Bendigo Bank Coolalinga Trobis Hcp (58) — 2:11pm, 1422m
Tee Galleria has been building to this. Its only run in the last three months was a win, and across four starts at Fannie Bay it has placed three times for a 75% strike rate — that’s an emerging pattern rather than a proven specialist given the sample, but the trend line only points one way. Trainer Paul Shiers backs it up with a 16% win rate and a place finish in nearly half his Fannie Bay runners, while Deborah Barton, aboard today, tops the jockey room on place strike rate at this track. The class of the race (a restricted Trobis handicap) suits a horse that’s shown it belongs at this level without being overexposed.
The one to watch underneath is Flash Kermy. Three runs at the track have brought two placings and no wins, and the wider 90-day sample tells the same story — four runs, three places, no breakthrough. That’s the Philip Cole stable pattern in miniature: this yard sends plenty to Fannie Bay but rarely gets one to the line first, so treat Flash Kermy as an each-way watch rather than a winning proposition. Merimbula’s course form (one win from five) and Sass’s honest but win-light record round out the field without threatening to upset the top two. Win bet on Tee Galleria, with Flash Kermy the each-way risk if the price drifts.
Race 2: Advance Civil Engineering/ Ruth Gaden 50+5 (Bm54) — 2:47pm, 1312m
Chloe Baxter has three runners engaged today, and this is the one she’s clearly training on. Seven runs at Fannie Bay have produced two wins and four places for Southampton Flare — a 57% place strike rate that’s the best of any deep-sample runner in today’s field bar Pafitis — and the recent form matches it, with a win from its last two starts. S Tsaikos, who partners it today, sits inside the top four jockeys at this track on place strike rate. Nothing else in this field brings the same combination of course form and recent trajectory, which makes this the best betting race on the card.
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Biden Time is the danger, and it’s a genuine one — three placings from four runs in the last 90 days, and it’s part of the Clarke-Todd operation that has been the story of the whole card. If the tempo suits and Todd gets the run he wants, this is the one capable of running Southampton Flare down late. Kessler and I Loverain both have the course miles (six and ten runs respectively) without the strike rate to match, and neither looks the type to trouble the top pair on current form. Win bet on Southampton Flare, with Biden Time the each-way cover if you want to hedge.
Race 3: Sba Office National Hcp (64) — 3:23pm, 1203m
Does If I Was You’s placing record hold up in a smaller field? Three course runs have brought two places for a 67% strike rate, and the last-90-day numbers back it up almost exactly — one win and two places from three starts. Chloe Baxter’s second runner of the afternoon, and it’s arguably a stronger play than her first given the more consistent recent trend. Dakota-Lee Gillett rides here as she did aboard Southampton Flare’s stablemate work, and while her own strike rate at the track sits in the middle of the pack, the horse’s profile does the heavy lifting.
Time To Baca is the each-way risk rather than the winning threat — four placings from seven course runs without a win anywhere in that sample, the definition of a horse that turns up but doesn’t quite get there. Patriotic King’s course record looks better on paper (two wins from three, albeit on a tiny sample not worth quoting as a percentage) but its most recent run under this same Clarke-Todd pairing was a well-beaten effort, and that recency matters more than the older figures. Mr Marrakech and Juice Box are makeweights on the numbers available. Back If I Was You for the win, with Time To Baca the each-way saver.
Race 4: Tschirpig Conveyancing Hcp (C2) — 4:02pm, 1094m
Three Clarke runners against two outsiders, and picking between the stable’s own trio is the whole puzzle here. Pafitis has the deepest course résumé of the three — five runs, three places, a 60% strike rate that’s the best in today’s field — but its most recent start under Todd was a well-beaten last-place run, and today it switches to Jessica Booth instead. Order Online goes the other way: just the one run at this track, but it placed, and it’s the one carrying Todd today, the rider with the best strike rate of anyone in the jockey room. Tears Are Flowing rounds out the trio with a single course run and little else to judge it on.
Outside the Clarke camp, Sassy Abbey has been the model of consistency without ever threatening to win — eight runs, three placings, no victories — while Charlie Magic looks the roughie of the field on the figures available. This is genuinely hard to have a strong view on; if forced, lean each-way on Pafitis for the deeper form line, but treat Order Online as a live alternative given who’s in the saddle. Each-way only, and don’t overcommit.
The plays
Southampton Flare is the NAP. Race 2, 2:47pm — the best course record of any runner with genuine sample size on the card, a recent win in its last two starts, and a stable and rider combination that’s been reliable all season. This is the one bet on the card backed with real conviction.
Tee Galleria is the value. It won its only run in three months and carries a 75% placing record at this track across four starts, yet it doesn’t have the raw win-rate history of some of today’s more heavily backed types — the market may not have caught up to how sharp the recent form actually is.
Banker: If I Was You in race 3 — the smallest field of the day and the most consistent recent placing record on the card make it the safest single leg for a multi.
Each-way: Time To Baca in race 3 — four places from seven course runs without a win is exactly the profile that pays in the place market even when it can’t get there first.
Course angle: G Clarke and J R Todd. The pair hit the placings in more than four rides out of every ten together at this track, and with three combined runners across today’s card, following that partnership into your multis is a repeatable strategy rather than a one-off punt.
If Clarke keeps loading meetings with this many runners and Todd keeps riding them, this partnership will be the first line of the form guide at Fannie Bay for months to come.
FAQ
What time does racing start at Fannie Bay today?
First race off is 2:11pm with the Bendigo Bank Coolalinga Trobis Handicap over 1422m. It’s a tight four-race card, wrapping up with the 4:02pm at 1094m.
Who are the top trainers and jockeys at Fannie Bay today?
G Clarke leads the trainers’ table with a 38.3% place rate from 154 runs at the track and has seven runners on today’s card. J R Todd tops the jockey numbers among the volume riders, with 29 wins from 121 rides (a 24% strike rate), and his partnership with Clarke specifically has produced 21 wins from 91 rides together at this track.
What are the best bets at Fannie Bay today?
Southampton Flare in race 2 is the standout on course form and recent trajectory. Tee Galleria in race 1 is the value play off the back of a perfect recent run, and If I Was You in race 3 is the safest multi leg given the small field and consistent placing record.
Where can I find the best odds for Fannie Bay races?
Fixed-price markets weren’t live through our odds feed at the time of writing this morning, so check your bookmaker’s app closer to the first race for firm prices on today’s Fannie Bay best bets.
