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STAY ON TRACK - SELECTIONS

The Group 1s are over but racing continues at Royal Randwick on Saturday with another TEN races and the highlight being the Precise Air Handicap (1500m) where Ducasse is early $4.40 equal favourite along with Green Fly, Cool Jakey ($6) heads the rest.

The rail is out 9m from the 1000m to the winning post and out 7m the remainder with the track rated a Soft 6. Late showers are forecast and 25 degrees for raceday.

This week’s selections: BG

BEST BET
Race 7, No.2 - LONHRO'S QUEEN ($5.50 on TAB)

Saturday 26th April – ROYAL RANDWICK

2. LONHRO'S QUEEN ($5.50) has won six of her ten starts for Cameron Crockett. The Scone-based trainer is bullish that the four-year-old mare is in career-best form after first and second up wins. The evidence suggests that he is right. She loved the wet conditions on her home track over 1000m rounding up her rivals to win going away. That saw her jump favourite in a Hawkesbury BM72 and again she gave her rivals a start before mowing them down. That was with Braith Nock in the saddle, who keeps the ride. Lonhro’s Queen raced in this grade last campaign but wasn’t suited by the lack of pressure and she struck traffic. This sets up perfectly against the mares.

10. WOOTTON VERNI ($7.50) being an import tackling this 42 weeks between runs and with Chris Waller all points to him needing the run. However, a half-fit Wootton Verni could still prove too classy for these. The five-year-old was a late nomination for the Cox Plate when first bought by Go Bloodstock. He beat Sunway in France back in May last year, with Sunway since franking that form in the French Derby, Irish Derby, King George, St Leger and Arc. You get the point. There’s great depth to his international form. Wootton Verni appears very well treated with a rating of 93. Should be too good for benchmark company. He returns having undergone surgery to repair a fissure (hairline) fracture but has trialled nicely since on two occasions. James McDonald rides.

The early market has decided that now is the time to drop off 1. SYDNEY BOWLER $19). Starting to think it might be time to now jump on at odds. The gelding burst onto the scene as a three-year-old winning his first three starts as he moved through the grades. A barrier mishap at the Gold Coast followed by a joint issue saw the son of Deep Field sidelined for 59 weeks. He resumed with a luckless fourth at Canterbury as a $3.90 chance. He then raced flat at Wyong, as horses often do second up after a lay off. Then at Hawkesbury he was shuffled back in the run and had to fan widest. He was $5.50 there. This isn’t any harder. Strikes it fourth up and he won on a soft track on debut.

1. KNOW THYSELF ($2.50) took his record to five wins from eight starts when landing the biggest victory of his career in the Country Championships Final at Randwick. The Paul Messara and Leah Gavranich-trained gelding had to settle in the second half of the field from the wide draw but it mattered little, chasing down his rivals to leave them without an excuse. The progression out to 1600m looks perfect now. As does the prospect of a rain-affected track. His only recent failure came first up this time in when not appreciating a Good 3 at Tamworth, failing as an odds on favourite. Lumps 61kg in this company but it looks to be a race with limited winning chances despite it’s numbers.

View final fields with full form & race replays for Royal Randwick here