Sunshine Coast Racing Tips 23 Oct 2026: Amelioration Again?

Overview

Amelioration has won three of nine starts at the Sunshine Coast and finished in the first three six times, and tonight that course record meets the synthetic track in the last race of a sixteen race marathon. That is the anchor for our Sunshine Coast racing tips, and it is a long night: the club has split the card into two programs running side by side, eight races on a turf track rated heavy and eight on the all weather surface, with pairs of races jumping at the same time from 5:20PM through to 9:05PM.

That split matters more than usual. A fair few horses are double acceptors, entered on both surfaces, and they can only take one ride. Where that affects a pick, we say so. Otherwise the plan is simple: lean on the riders and stables with real volume here, respect the heavy turf, and keep the money for the races where the form actually lines up. Ben Thompson rides in most of them and wins a quarter of the time at this track, Jack Bruce gets six in ten of the stable’s runners into the first three here, and the late quaddie gives us a genuine course specialist to finish on.

Reading the Sunshine Coast card

Two surfaces, one set of jockeys. The turf is heavy, so anything that hasn’t shown it handles cut is a guess on the grass, while the all weather races should play fair and favour horses with tactical speed. The jockeys’ room is the most useful guide tonight. Thompson has 163 rides here, and the next busiest riders are well behind on strike rate.

Among the stables, Jack Bruce is the volume leader and Renita Beaton punches hardest for the numbers.

Horse course form runs deeper than on most country cards. These are the runners with five or more starts here.

Best Bookmakers for Today’s Racing

Sunshine Coast race by race

Race 1: Kawana Dolphins Mdn Plate, 5:20PM, 1400m

Hard Knox is the one with the profile. The form figures read 0, 2, 2, 3, 3, and four starts at this track have produced three placings without a win, which is exactly the sort of maiden that eventually gets there with the right ride. Ben Thompson takes the reins for the Kendrick stable, and barrier 8 should allow a spot just off the speed. The catch is that Hard Knox is also accepted in Race 8 on the turf, so check which race the stable chooses before you bet.

Moonlight Odyssey is the danger, with three placings from four starts over the last 90 days, and carries 56.5kg with S Tierney aboard. If Hard Knox goes to the grass, Moonlight Odyssey becomes the pick. Win bet on Hard Knox if the horse stays here.

Race 2: Kawana Dolphins Mdn Hcp, 5:20PM, 1600m

Five runners on a heavy mile, and none of them has won a race. Poor Ol’ Johny Ray has run third at each of the last three starts, which says this one keeps turning up without quite having the finish. M Rodd, who wins about a quarter of the time here, gets the job from barrier 1. Bacetti has the Thompson booking and one placing from three starts in the last 90 days, so that is the threat. Small win bet on Poor Ol’ Johny Ray, nothing more.

Race 3: Kawana Dolphins Mdn Plate, 6:00PM, 1100m

How much weight relief does a maiden need? It’sall About Mary gets in with 51kg, has run second three times in the last six, and has two placings from four runs in the last 90 days. That’s an honest type getting a big pull in the weights on a surface that should suit. It’sall About Mary is also entered in Race 5, so confirm the runner goes here.

Hit A Lick is the main rival on numbers, with two placings from five in the last 90 days and a placing from the only start at the track. Each way on It’sall About Mary.

Race 4: Kawana Dolphins (Bm58), 6:00PM, 1600m

Castaway arrives in form: one run in the last 90 days for one win, and one start at this track for one win. Thompson stays on from barrier 3. On a heavy mile, a horse that already knows how to win here is worth more than one that has to find it, and 60.5kg is fair for a last start winner in a Benchmark 58.

Brass Band is the threat if the Beaton stable lines up here rather than in Race 13. Five top three finishes from six starts over the last 90 days is the sort of consistency that is hard to leave out of a 1600m handicap. Maple Door has also won at the track. Win bet on Castaway, saver on Brass Band if accepted here.

Race 5: Kawana Dolphins Mdn Hcp, 6:30PM, 1200m

A three year old maiden on heavy ground, and most of these have had one or two runs. Hard to have a confident view. Worththeadmission has form figures of 4, 8, 5, gets Thompson for the Munce stable, and draws barrier 9, which is workable over 1200m. Pink Dogwood is the curiosity: a Chris Waller runner with Taylor Marshall on, beaten in the only start in the last 90 days, but from a stable that gets more than half its runners here into the first three. Watch race. If you must play, a small each way on Worththeadmission.

Race 6: Kawana Dolphins (Bm68), 6:30PM, 1100m

Heart And Spirit has the best track record of any horse on the synthetic side of the card. Seven starts here have produced two wins and five top three finishes, which is real evidence rather than a hot streak, and 1100m is the right trip. S Tierney rides for the Kendrick stable from barrier 9, a touch wide, but in a field of seven it should not cost much.

A last start seventh is the reason Heart And Spirit may not start as short as the course form deserves. Blakemore Avenue is the danger, having won twice from three starts at the track, and Holiday Dreams has a win among two top three finishes from three runs in the last 90 days. Back Heart And Spirit to win; this is the banker for multis.

Race 7: Kawana Dolphins Hcp (C3), 7:00PM, 1600m

Jack Bruce has two in this, and the jockey bookings tell you which one the stable leans on. Taylor Marshall rides Mr Bubbaluski, and Marshall with Bruce at this track is the best partnership on the card: nine wins and seventeen top three finishes from 22 rides. Mr Bubbaluski won at the most recent start on the form figures and has a win from three runs in the last 90 days. At 58.5kg that is top weight, but a Class 3 over the mile with nine runners should give Marshall the run of the race.

The stablemate Luconi is the danger, and not a small one, with three top three finishes from four starts over the last 90 days and Ben Thompson in the saddle. The two Bruce runners are the obvious exacta. Back Mr Bubbaluski to win and box the pair.

Race 8: Kawana Dolphins Mdn Plate, 7:00PM, 1200m

Buttercup is the most reliable maiden at the meeting. The last five starts read 2, 2, 2, 3, 2, both runs in the last 90 days ended in a placing, and the only visit to the track did too. M Rodd rides for J W Healy, a trainer who wins with a fifth of the stable’s runners here. The worry is obvious: Buttercup keeps finding one better.

Hard Knox is the danger if the Kendrick stable comes here instead of Race 1, and Duchess Difficult has one placing from two starts over the last 90 days for the Hoysted stable. Buttercup is an each way bet rather than a win bet; the place money is as safe as anything tonight.

Race 9: Kawana Dolphins (Bm55), 7:30PM, 1100m

The question is which of the in and out sprinters turns up. It’s Kaos has a win among two top three finishes from three runs in the last 90 days, and won one of two starts at this track. Kayla Johnston rides for J L Johnston from barrier 9. Torque Too Easy won the most recent start on the form figures and carries 57kg, and Sling, a course winner for the Thompson and Kendrick combination, is the other one to fear if kept on the synthetic rather than sent to Race 14. Each way on It’s Kaos.

Race 10: Kawana Dolphins Hcp (C5), 7:30PM, 1400m

Tonneofgrit has had three starts at the Sunshine Coast and finished in the first three every time, including a win. The form reads 0, 2, 2, 5, and two placings from four runs in the last 90 days says another one is close. Archie McColm rides from barrier 5 with 58kg in a Class 5. This is a soft race, and a horse that has never missed the frame here is the right sort to be with on heavy turf.

Contilda’s Love is the danger, with two wins from five starts here and three top three finishes, plus two placings from three over the last 90 days. Nightcapped carries the Marshall and Bruce combination but is also entered in Race 12. Each way on Tonneofgrit.

Race 11: Kawana Dolphins (Bm58), 8:00PM, 1300m

Plenty of late withdrawals in this one, which leaves a more manageable field. Sir Maurice is the Jack Bruce runner, has placed in two of three starts at the track, and has two placings from three runs in the last 90 days. Mckenzie Apel rides at 61kg. Dazzling Diamond is the each way threat, having placed in all three course starts, and carries only 53.5kg. Uluwatu won one of two starts here. Win bet on Sir Maurice, small saver on Dazzling Diamond.

Race 12: Kawana Dolphins (Bm68), 8:00PM, 1400m

Ikasara has a win from three runs at the track and two top three finishes there, and the form figures end 1, 3, 2, which is a horse in the middle of a good run. McColm rides from barrier 3 at 59kg, a gate that should allow a handy spot on the synthetic. Streak Of Winning, a course winner who won once from three runs in the last 90 days, is the danger if taken to this race rather than Race 10. Win bet on Ikasara.

Race 13: Zenith Electrical Solutions (Bm55), 8:30PM, 1400m

The quaddie opens with a race that hinges on one acceptance. If Brass Band runs here instead of Race 4, that is the most consistent horse in the field, with five top three finishes from six runs over the last 90 days. If not, Beached As Bro takes over: one run in the last 90 days for a win, form figures ending with that win, and Corey Sutherland riding for Stephen Sutherland at 57.5kg.

The worry with Beached As Bro is barrier 17, which leaves the rider a choice between pushing forward and dropping back to hope. On the synthetic, a confident ride from out there can work. I Am Pietra, with two placings from four starts in the last 90 days, should get the run of the race from barrier 2. In the quaddie take Beached As Bro and Brass Band; for a single bet, Beached As Bro each way.

Race 14: Zenith Electrical Solutions Hcp (C2), 8:30PM, 1000m

Perle de Chocolat won the only start here and has three top three finishes from four runs in the last 90 days, one of them a win. That is the steadiest profile in a 1000m dash on heavy ground, and M Rodd rides from barrier 8 at 56.5kg. Belle Affair, placed at one of two course starts, is drawn on the rail, and Sling drops to 54.5kg if switched here from Race 9. Win bet on Perle de Chocolat.

Race 15: Kawana Dolphins (Bm58), 9:05PM, 2430m

Backhander is the stayer in form. Two wins from five runs in the last 90 days with three top three finishes, the most recent a win on the form figures, and Ben Thompson rides for Annabel Neasham and Rob Archibald, whose runners finish in the first three more than half the time here. Over 2430m on heavy ground, a fit horse in a winning groove is a big edge.

Backhander is also entered in Race 16, so this one depends on where the stable goes. If the turf is the choice, the danger is Miss Dynamo, a course winner from six starts, or Ormond Road, placed three times from seven starts here without winning. Win bet on Backhander if running here.

Race 16: Kawana Dolphins (Bm58), 9:05PM, 2000m

The last race of the night is the best betting race on the card. Amelioration is a genuine Sunshine Coast specialist: nine starts here for three wins and six top three finishes, so a third of those runs ended in a win and two thirds in the money. The last 90 days back it up, with three wins from six starts and four top three finishes, and the form figures end with back to back wins. Amelioration is listed as a non runner in Race 15, so this is the race.

Emily Pozman takes the ride at 59.5kg from barrier 3, a handy gate on the synthetic that allows a spot without using the horse early. Renita Beaton wins with a quarter of the stable’s runners at the track, so this yard knows how to get one ready here. Topweight is the only knock, and over 2000m on a fair surface it matters less than it would on the heavy turf.

Makamae is the danger with the deepest course record of all, eleven starts here for two wins and seven top three finishes, but no wins from six runs over the last 90 days. Backhander is the wildcard if the stable comes here rather than Race 15. Back Amelioration to win, and use the horse as the anchor in any quaddie.

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Sunshine Coast racing FAQ

What time does racing start at the Sunshine Coast today?

The first two races jump together at 5:20PM AEST, Race 1 on the all weather track and Race 2 on the turf. The final pair, Races 15 and 16, go at 9:05PM.

Who are the top jockeys and trainers at the Sunshine Coast?

Ben Thompson leads the jockeys with 42 wins from 163 rides here and 90 top three finishes, and M Rodd wins about a quarter of the time. Jack Bruce is the leading trainer with 27 wins from 110 runners, and Renita Beaton has won with nine of 34.

What are the best bets at the Sunshine Coast today?

Amelioration in Race 16 is our best bet, with three wins from nine starts at the track. Heart And Spirit in Race 6 is the banker, and Buttercup in Race 8 is the each way play.

Where can I find the best odds for Sunshine Coast races?

No bookmaker markets were open when these Sunshine Coast predictions were written. Compare prices across the bookmakers listed above once betting opens, and confirm which double acceptors are running before you bet.