STAY ON TRACK – SELECTIONS
Saturday’s Rosehill Gardens race meeting kicks off the winter period with the 10-race card highlighted by the $200,000 Listed-Lord Mayors Cup (2000m) where the TAB favourite is Waterford at $3.70 ahead of Sir Lucan ($5.50), Williamsburg ($6) and Sibaaq ($7).
The rail is out 3m the entire circumference with the track rated a Soft 5. There’s a high chance of rain on both Friday and Saturday with the temperature reaching a top of 18 degrees on raceday.
This week’s selections: BG
BEST BET
Race 9, No.1 – HOLLYWOOD HERO ($7 on TAB)
Saturday 1st June – ROSEHILL GARDENS
| Race 7 – 2:30PM LISTED-LORD MAYORS CUP (2000M) |
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5. SIBAAQ ($7 on TAB) hasn’t won for just shy of two years but he looks to set up perfectly on Saturday. The Annabel Neasham-trained six-year-old gets out to 2000m third-up and maps to get the run of the race. The Listed feature also looks to have a tail as far as legitimate winning chances go. Having settled outside of the leader at Scone last start in the Cup he assumed control before the home turn. Sibaaq then found the front a long way out and was left to be picked off late. Fight as he might, he was run down in the last 50m by 2. Sky Lab ($8.50) and 3. Waterford ($3.70 fav) and lost nothing in defeat. He should be able to dive in behind the speed to get some cover on Saturday and have no excuses from there. In the 16 starts since his last win, he has finished top four in 12 of them.
| Race 8 – 3:05PM TAB HANDICAP (1800M) |
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17. NAVAL COMMISSION ($4.80 favourite) has returned in career-best form and there’s still more to come. The four-year-old scrambled home at Scone second-up having worked early before improving again third-up at the midweeks. He beat a luckless Bestower but there was seven lengths back to third. Bestower has since run well, with her finishing position not doing the run justice. Ash Morgan jumps back on fourth-up having guided him to victory two starts ago. The son of Merchant Navy looks pretty straight forward and can settle just about anywhere in the run but expect Plan A be to use the gate to settle in the first four. That tactical speed and positioning looks his biggest advantage regarding holding off an inevitable late charge from 3. Unusual Legacy ($5), who looks his obvious threat.
| Race 9 – 3:40PM PRECISE AIR HANDICAP (1500M) |
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1. HOLLYWOOD HERO ($7) comes back in grade from The Coast at Newcastle last start and the trade off is a hike in the weights. The gelding settled out the back three weeks ago in testing conditions before working home strongly into fourth and prior to that he bolted in at Canterbury Park. His first-up run behind Gringotts and Iknowastar also reads well now too. Long story short, he has come back well. The son of Sacred Falls has raced 19 times and this is only his third campaign. He has already shown that he holds his form deep into preparations and doubt that changes this time in. His 62kg impost is offset after the claim of Bailey Wheeler with apprentice jockeys having ridden him with success in the past. He’s well placed in a race with limited winning chances on paper.
| Race 10 – 4:20PM ROSEHILL BOWLING CLUB HANDICAP (1200M) |
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8. JEDIBEEL ($6.50) kept trying in defeat behind Dollar Magic at Scone last start and held off third comfortably on the line. That was on the back of a dominant win at the midweeks over 1000m. The Savabeel gelding looks well set up for 1200m now third-up. He is yet to win beyond 1100m but has had limited exposure over anything further with both previous attempts coming in his first campaign. This is a deep race with a number of winning hopes but he looks to have returned better than ever and maps to get the right run in transit and that could prove the difference. The Brad Widdup-trained sprinter has improved each preperation and he profiles like there is still more to come, with just 11 starts to his name.
View final fields with full form & race replays for Rosehill Gardens here
