Australian Guineas Preview & Best Bets – 01/03/2025

in Flemington 27 Feb 2025

Some of the leading three-year-olds in Australia will be in action on Saturday at Flemington in the Group One Australian Guineas. The feature race takes place over the distance of 1,600 metres, and there is a purse of $1,000,000 on offer.

Here is a look at the best bets from the card at Flemington, including a selection in the Australian Guineas.

BEST BET: ANGEL CAPITAL

Race 2 (Australian Guineas)

With three victories from four starts, Angel Capital has had an excellent three-year-old campaign. His only loss came in the Caulfield Guineas (1,600m), where he was a little unlucky in running in the race won by Private Life.

Clinton McDonald’s colt had a few months off following his Caulfield defeat and it looks to have freshened him up. He was back to his best on his return to action in the Grade Two Hyland Race Colours Autumn Stakes (1,400m). The son of Harry Angel beat a strong field that included Evaporate and Catoggio.

The four-time winner now looks ready to land his first triumph at the highest level. He has matured physically, and the course at Flemington should suit him. This will be the first of three major targets this autumn, with the All-star Mile and Doncaster Mile also set to be on his horizon. His participation in the former may depend on how well he fares in the Australian Guineas at the same venue.

Jockey, Ben Melham, said after his Autumn Stakes victory that his horse will be hard to beat in the Australian Guineas. It is not often you hear a rider speaking so confidently ahead of a big race, so it looks like he is a worthy favourite at the Victoria racecourse.,

SECOND BEST BET: DENY KNOWLEDGE

Race 10 (Blamey Stakes)

Experienced mare Deny Knowledge has a solid record at Flemington Racecourse, and she returns there this Saturday for the Blamey Stakes. She was a winner at this level at the venue last season when she landed the Matriarch Stakes (2,000m) in a close finish.

Although she was not successful, one of Deny Knowledge’s best career runs came at Flemington when she was fourth of 16 runners in the Grade One Empire Rose Stakes. She was a big price that day, but she outran her odds to come home four lengths behind Pride Of Jenni.

Anthony and Sam Freedman’s mare was a winner in a Grade One contest at Caulfield earlier this campaign. She won the Might And Power (2,000m), upsetting the warm-favourite, Mr Brightside. She has not followed that up in two starts since, but she has run respectably well at the highest level.

The seven-year-old is eased in class this weekend for this Group Two affair. She is a standout runner in the field, and it is a great opportunity for her to add to her tally of six victories in her career.

BEST VALUE: MIDNIGHT DYNAMITE

Race 3 (Inglis Sprint)

Midnight Dynamite was successful on his opening two starts on the track. He prevailed on his sole appearance as a two-year-old in a low-key maiden contest at Goulburn over 1,000m. Connections then opted to put him away for the rest of the season. He made a return to action as a three-year-old at Canterbury Park winning a handicap in a close finish.

Bjorn Baker’s sprinter suffered defeat on his last run at Randwick (1,300m) but it was another solid performance, as he was denied by just a short head. This is now a step-up in class for the son of Pierata, but he remains unexposed, so it would be no surprise to see him take another step forward here. Take a chance on the gelding to improve his excellent start to his career.