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By Nick Berney

ROYAL RANDWICK – BEST BET: Race 3 # 1 – JUJA KIBO

Ciaron Maher (Pic: Bradley Photos).

He’s on an upward ratings spiral and brings a likeable wet-track profile into this event. The gelding is looking to make it three wins in a row, and his past two efforts were full of merit. He had to overcome the bias last start at Rosehill on a very testing surface and had his momentum halted when the sprint went on, but to his credit, he picked himself back up, savaged the line and pricked his ears. Additionally, the rise to 2400m looks no issue at all and he has a turn of foot where a few of his rivals can be one-paced.

ROYAL RANDWICK – BEST BET: Race 1 # 12 – DIVINE BENE

He’s coming off a dominant last-start win at Newcastle, where he moved well through the heavy conditions. The gelding led at a genuine speed and when asked to respond, he put his rivals away in a matter of strides before pulling away over the concluding stages. He’s been consistent this prep, gets in with no weight, and will roll forward, looking to have first-use of the track.

ROYAL RANDWICK – VALUE BET: Race 9 # 6 – CORNICHE

His first-up run put the writing on the wall that he is ready to win second-up, and he revels in the conditions. The now Ciaron Maher trained runner resumed after a long break at Rosehill over 1100m and was slightly outsprinted between the 400m and 200m, but once he built momentum, he savaged the line with the clock backing up the late visual strength. The last time he struck a heavy surface with a break between runs, he produced a career peak figure, and repeating that effort will put him right in the finish. Further, he’s suited out to 1200m and Randwick suits his style of racing.

ROYAL RANDWICK – SECTIONAL STAR: Race 10 # 15 – ISLAND DREAM

She needed the run first-up and improved sharply second-up to win at Canterbury, and she did it with style. The mare was well-ridden, but she ran time, and there was a margin to third to confirm the quality of the race. Further, she kept wanting to find the line with a trier’s action, and her final 200m was one of the quickest of the meeting. She gets in with 52.5kg, has a solid platform and is a last-start winner on a heavy surface.

All the fields, form and replays for Saturday’s Randwick meeting