Canberra Racing Tips: Is Feazabeel Overdue a Win?
Mornington Racing Tips: Can Blondie’s Award Make It 3?
Blondie’s Award steps out at Mornington on September 4 having won her last two starts, and trainers Shane Nichols and Hayden Black haven’t had to search hard for a third opportunity: she drops into a Benchmark 62 that looks made for her. That’s the standout story on a heavy maiden-laden six-race card, one where plenty of fields are still hunting a first winner and placegetters outnumber graduates by a wide margin. Turf underfoot, six races running from 1094m out to 2220m, and a 3:00pm feature that doubles as the best betting heat of the day. These Mornington racing tips work through all six, lean on the trainer and jockey numbers that actually carry weight at this track, and land on where the value sits once the obvious selection is out of the way.
What Mornington gives us today
Course form is thin across today’s fields. Of the roughly 140 horses racing at Mornington from today onward, only a handful carry any real history at the track, and Zamparini Spirit’s four runs here, for two wins and two minor placings, is about as deep as the card gets. That’s the nature of five maiden events on one program; most runners simply haven’t had the chance to build a Mornington resume yet. Official going wasn’t published at the time of writing, so treat the surface as an open question until markets firm closer to the first jump.
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The clearer signal comes from the training and riding ranks that turn up at this track again and again. Jerome Hunter and C Maher head the trainer numbers by some distance, and both have runners on today’s card.
| Trainer | Runs | Wins | Places | Win% | Place% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jerome Hunter | 9 | 3 | 8 | 33.33% | 88.89% |
| C Maher | 9 | 4 | 6 | 44.44% | 66.67% |
| M Price & M Kent Jnr | 11 | 2 | 6 | 18.18% | 54.55% |
| Jason Warren | 12 | 1 | 6 | 8.33% | 50.00% |
| T Busuttin & N Young | 9 | 2 | 4 | 22.22% | 44.44% |
Hunter places nearly nine of every ten runners he brings here, the strongest number of anyone training at the meeting, and it lines up neatly with his lone runner today. On the riding front, the volume belongs to J Mott with 21 career rides at the track, but the strike rate favours a smaller group.
| Jockey | Rides | Wins | Places | Win% | Place% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teodore Nugent | 6 | 2 | 4 | 33.33% | 66.67% |
| Thomas Stockdale | 11 | 2 | 7 | 18.18% | 63.64% |
| C Newitt | 5 | 1 | 3 | 20.00% | 60.00% |
| J Mott | 21 | 4 | 10 | 19.05% | 47.62% |
| L Nolen | 13 | 1 | 6 | 7.69% | 46.15% |
Keep those five names in mind through the card. Between Hunter, Maher, Newitt, Nugent and Stockdale, they touch most of the runners worth following below.
Race by race
Race 1: Sportsbet Same Race Multi Mdn Plate – 1:00pm, 1640m
Independant Lad has been building toward this. Two runs back he was midfield, then closed into second last start, and the form now reads six-two-two: a genuine upward line for a three-year-old still finding his feet. Jerome Hunter sends him out with C Newitt aboard, and both figures from the table above matter here. Newitt has hit the frame in three of his last five rides at Mornington, and Hunter’s placing rate leads every trainer at the meeting. That combination is hard to bet against in a field of eighteen.
Passio is the swing option if the market drifts away from the favourite. He’s a debut placegetter for the powerful M Price and M Kent Jnr stable, with Thomas Stockdale up, and Stockdale places close to two-thirds of his Mornington mounts. Enough was shown first-up to expect more improvement.
Independant Lad to win. Passio each-way if you want to spread the risk across a deep maiden field.
Race 2: Magic Millions Mdn Plate – 1:30pm, 1312m
Does Dama Royale ever turn one of these placings into a win? Five runs into her campaign, the answer is still no, but four of those five have been minor placings, an 80 percent hit-out rate that’s hard to ignore even without the winning post to show for it. T Busuttin and N Young place close to half their Mornington runners across nine visits, and jockey Jett Stanley gets another look for the half-length she’s been missing.
The complication is Hierarchy, a first starter from the well-performed A & S Freedman yard who gets none other than J Mott in the saddle, the most experienced rider at the track today. A stable putting a debutant out with that jockey attached is usually saying something about what it has seen on the training track.
Each-way Dama Royale is the sensible line. Treat Hierarchy as the one that could upset the minor placings if the market takes to her.
Race 3: Pt. Leo Estate Mdn Plate – 2:00pm, 1094m
This is one of those races where a confident tip does more harm than good. Nobody among the fancied types has scored yet, and the two most likely to attract support come with question marks: Koko has placed in three of his five runs without kicking on, and Little Richo has had only two starts, finishing fourth and then third. La Velocita, backed up by an emergency rider, looks to be fading off recent form rather than building toward one.
If forced, Koko on the strength of his consistency, but this is a watch race rather than a betting one. Small stakes only, if any at all.
Race 4: Tobin Brothers Celebrating Lives Mdn Plate – 2:30pm, 1094m
M Price and M Kent Jnr have five runners spread across today’s card, and Come Together is the one they’ve already shown the frame to: second on debut for a stable that places better than half its Mornington runners across eleven visits. Backing up off a promising first-up run fits exactly the pattern this yard likes to work with.
Oxford Street is the danger on raw ability, third on debut before fading to seventh last time, for an A & S Freedman stable that has runners going nicely elsewhere on the card too. The Troubleshooter has placed in three of his five runs this year, but the finishes either side of those placings have been well held, so he’s more roughie than play.
Come Together each-way in a field where nobody has yet proven they can go one better.
Race 5: Big Event Picnic Tables (Bm62) – 3:00pm, 1094m
Blondie’s Award grinds out results; Kippis explodes off a break. Two very different profiles, and both look live in this Benchmark 62.
Blondie’s Award has won her last two starts and finished in the money in six of seven runs this year, a 42.86 percent strike rate that’s the kind of consistency few maiden-grade horses carry into a step-up class. Jye Mcneil takes the ride for Shane Nichols and Hayden Black, and nothing in the formline suggests the run should stop here.
Kippis is the wildcard. One run this campaign, and it was a win, coming off a spell after a previous prep that read second, fourth, second: a horse that’s always been competitive without always finishing the job. What lifts her into genuine contention is the stable behind her. C Maher’s runners at Mornington have won 44.44 percent of the time and placed in two of every three visits across nine runners, no one training at the meeting matches it, and Beau Mertens takes the ride.
She’s My Ex and Mr Assertive both add depth without matching the top two. She’s My Ex has been freshened after an indifferent latest run, and Mr Assertive (one win, two places from four runs this year) sits in the each-way conversation rather than the winning one.
This looks like the best betting heat on the card. Blondie’s Award to win on the strength of the two she’s already banked, with Kippis the value play underneath if the stable’s Mornington form holds up again.
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Race 6: Flex23 Asphalting (Bm62) – 3:30pm, 2220m
Stretch a field to 2220 metres and the finish usually goes to whoever is still building momentum in the straight rather than the one that led all the way. Tolpuddle fits that description best: runner-up at each of his last two starts, for a Nick Ryan yard that has placed three of its four runners at this track, with Jamie Melham engaged on a horse that looks to be building toward the win his recent form promises.
Red Aces is the each-way alternative purely on the rider. Teodore Nugent has won twice and placed in four of his six rides at Mornington, no jockey at the meeting does better in the placings, though the horse’s own recent figures, a run of minor and unplaced finishes, ask more questions than they answer.
Annabelle Sunshine has two wins from seven runs this year and hits the frame more often than not, but her last four starts have all been minor placings rather than the front two. Solid, not spectacular, and probably third string in this line-up.
Tolpuddle to win, with Red Aces the each-way saver if the tempo suits him over the 2220m.
Where the money goes
That’s the full read through six races, and if these Mornington racing tips boil down to one card, it’s this: back the horse already winning, and use the trainer numbers to find the one about to.
NAP: Blondie’s Award (3:00pm) tops the card. Not because she’s flashy, but because she’s already won twice this month and the placement into a Benchmark 62 says the stable thinks she’s ready for a third. Back her to win.
Value: Independant Lad (1:00pm). He’s still a maiden, which means the market will respect that tag more than his improving form deserves, and Jerome Hunter’s Mornington numbers are the best on the card.
Banker: Dama Royale (1:30pm). Four placings from five runs and a rider-trainer combination that gets the job at least partway done nearly every time it turns up. Use her to anchor a multi.
Each-way: Kippis (3:00pm). One run back from a break, but it was a winning one, and the stable behind her is the standout of the entire program.
Course angle: Jerome Hunter. His runners have placed in nearly nine of every ten Mornington starts, comfortably the top figure at the meeting. If he keeps sending them out at that rate, he’s worth following every time his colours turn up here.
Independant Lad and Blondie’s Award both carry the stable’s confidence into their races today; watch whether either yard keeps producing at this clip through spring.
FAQ
What time does racing start at Mornington today?
The first race, the Sportsbet Same Race Multi Mdn Plate, jumps at 1:00pm, with six races taking the card through to the Flex23 Asphalting (Bm62) over 2220m at 3:30pm.
Who are the top trainers and jockeys at Mornington today?
Jerome Hunter and C Maher lead the trainer numbers, placing 88.89 percent and 66.67 percent of their runners at the track respectively from nine starters each. Teodore Nugent and Thomas Stockdale top the jockey figures among today’s riders, each placing better than 60 percent of their Mornington mounts.
What are the best bets at Mornington today?
Blondie’s Award (Race 5, 3:00pm) tops today’s Mornington best bets off back-to-back wins, Independant Lad (Race 1) is rated the value play behind Jerome Hunter’s trainer numbers, and Dama Royale (Race 2) is the safest each-way option for multis.
Where can I find the best odds for Mornington races?
Bookmaker markets hadn’t firmed at the time of writing. Compare prices close to each jump, since maiden fields like today’s can move sharply in the final minutes as stable money shows.
Is Mornington course form reliable today?
Not particularly. Most of today’s runners carry no meaningful history at the track, so this article leans on recent form, trainer and jockey numbers, and race shape rather than course-specific figures for the bulk of the card.
