Betting Punter

The Brisbane Racing Club is set to host a nine-race program this Saturday at Eagle Farm. With the QTIS Jewel Raceday just two weeks away, we’ll get to assess where some of the contenders at in the Two and Three-Year-Old Preludes. The track is rated a Good 4 with the rail out four metres the entire course.   Continue reading for our top selections for each of the nine races.  Race 1 - 1:03pm AEDT BENCHMARK 72 Handicap (1600 METRES) Hokahey (4) has found a new lease of life since joining Jack Bruce’s stable. The five-year-old mare has won her past two starts in fine fashion.  After settling back and charging to the line two starts ago at Doomben over 1350m, she settled closer last start when rising to this distance. The result was the same with the daughter of War Chant letting down powerfully to win by 2.61 lengths.   This is harder but she’s racing in great form and Sam Collett has developed an undefeated partnership with her.   1 Unit – Hokahey...

The three-year-olds take centre stage this Saturday at Royal Randwick with a strong field of 12 stepping out in this year’s Randwick Guineas .   Aft Cabin has unfinished business after having his chance at a hat-trick spoiled in the Hobartville Stakes two weeks ago by Osipenko, and it’s no surprise to find the pair sitting one-two in the market.   Last-start winners hold an exceptional record in the Guineas with six saluting over the last 11 years, a stat that bodes particualrly well for Osipenko and last year’s Victoria Derby winner Manzoice at longer odds.   With several setting their sights on the Rosehill Guineas in a fortnight’s time, check out our analysis on each runner in this year’s Randwick Guineas field below.   1. Manzoice (14)   Manzoice caused a boil-over in last year’s Victoria Derby , storming home late as a 21-1 pop thanks to a well-timed ride from Michael Dee.   The Chris Waller-trained colt hasn’t been seen since, but this does loo...

A capacity field of three-year-olds has accepted for Saturday’s Group 1 Australian Guineas over the mile at Flemington.   The $1 million feature has attracted the likes of dual Group 1 winner Jacquinot and last-start CS Hayes Stakes winner Elliptical, as well as Mitchell Freedman’s promising colt, Attrition.   The Guineas has produced several future champions of the turf, including last year’s winner Hitotsu going on to claim the ATC Derby, and Mystic Journey going on to win the All-Star Mile two weeks later in 2019.   Which colt or filly will stamp themselves as one to watch?  Our thoughts on every runner in this year’s 2023 Australian Guineas can be found below.   1. Jacquinot (11)   Jacquinot steps out in search of his hat-trick after securing a second Group 1 in the C.F. Orr Stakes at Sandown a few weeks ago.   The boom Rubick colt was awarded the win on a protest after lifting down the middle of the track to finish over the top of all bar ...

There’s only two months left of the A-League regular season and the table is still as tight as ever. Round 19 is shaping up to be another monster round of football, with just four points separating second from seventh it still truly is wide open this season. Did you follow along last week? I don’t want to toot my own horn but it’s my own article and I can do what I want, I went 5/6 on my Round 18 tips! Hopefully we can back it up this week with another strong outing. Here is my preview of the A-League Round 19. Adelaide United Vs Melbourne City Friday 3 March, 7:45pm, Coopers Stadium Friday night footy gets us off and racing at Coopers Stadium this week where Adelaide United will host Melbourne City who are still comfortably on top of the table. Both sides had incredibly close contests in Round 18, City winning 3-2 v Sydney FC and United splitting points 1-1 with the Victory. Adelaide have been very leaky at the back recently, conceding 11 goals in their last 5 ...

The entire Super Rugby Pacific competition descends on AAMI Park in Melbourne for Round 2 for the second edition of “Super Round”. For a team like the Crusaders, Round 2 provides an opportunity to rebound from a shocking first up defeat when they take on the Highlanders. Opening weekend standouts the Blues and Hurricanes will be out to prove that their respective big wins are a sign of things to come this season. Six games, three days, one venue, we’ve got you covered with our previews for every Super Round game below! Crusaders Vs Highlanders Friday 3 March, 6:00pm, AAMI Park Through 21 minutes, things were looking pretty good for the Crusaders as they lead the Chiefs 10-0 at home but it was all downhill over the final hour. It’s not very often you will see the Crusaders give up 31 unanswered points, but they did just that as they went down by three converted tries. On the plus side, there are few opponents that would offer a better bounce back opportunity than a...

CARLOS ALCARAZ V MACKENZIE McDONALD  World No.2 Carlos Alcaraz returns to hard-court action at the Alcapulco Open, after unleashing his customary dominance on clay since returning from injury. The 19-year-old phenom won the US Open but missed the Australian Open.  Alcaraz added a seventh ATP title by taking out the Argentina Open two weeks ago, beating Cameron Norrie in the final. He followed that up by reaching the final of the Rio Open with Norrie turning the tables, though he reportedly suffered an injury relapse during the latter tournament.  First-round opponent Mackenzie McDonald is coming off a solid semi-final run at the Delray Beach Open a fortnight back. He beat Taro Daniel, Yoshihito Nishioka and Michael Mmoh before going down to top seed Taylor Fritz.  The world No.62 reached the third round of the Australian Open after dumping an underdone Rafael Nadal out, eventually losing to Nishioka.  Alcaraz already has two comprehensive victories over McD...

Toronto Raptors Vs Chicago Bulls 10:40am, Scotiabank Arena Just about everyone put a line through the Raptors ahead of the All-Star break, but they continue to hang around in the play-in picture after winning seven of their last 10 games.   Pascal Siakam has been at the forefront of Toronto’s latest success, and I’m expecting another big game from the Raptors’ versatile starting forward.   The 28-year-old has been an assists machine this year averaging a career-high 6.1 per game, something the Bulls know all too well after suffering at the hands of Siakam on more than one occasion last season.   Siakam was out of the lineup when these two sides met twice back in November, but I think the over is a safe bet here given the Bulls rank ninth in assists allowed and 27 th in overall defence against opposing power forwards.   Tip: Pascal Siakam Over 4.5 Assists  BET NOW: Raptors v Bulls Oklahoma City Thunder Vs Sacramento Kings 11:10am,...

Doomben will play host to this week’s midweek metropolitan meeting. The rail will be out 8m which can tend to favour the on pace runners. The track is currently a soft 5 but should come back to a good 4 for the eight race card. Our Ladbrokes preview can be found below. Race 1 - 1:38pm AEDT JOURNEY TO THE JEWEL MAIDEN PLATE (1200 METRES) There was a bit to like about the debut performance of Jump’N Fly.  The Tony Gollan trained filly just found them too sharp over the 1000m dash.  She never looked to be travelling comfortably but still finished off well. The 1200m here looks ideal for her and I think we’ll see a much improved performance from her.  Her dam was a winner over 2400m so you would expect that she will continue to improve as she steps out over further.   1 unit – JUMP’N FLY BET NOW: Doomben Race 1 Race 2 - 2:13pm AEDT CASCADE Colts, Geldings & Entires MAIDEN PLATE (1200 METRES) Naval Trader was terrific on debut over 1...

Warwick Farm - Race 2 1:30pm AEDT No. 4 Commando Jack Commando Jack won’t be a maiden for much longer based on his first-up effort at Kensington over 1400m.   The Churchill three-year-old was beaten just over a length and may have run a place if he wasn’t held up at the top of the straight.   The form out of that assignment reads well with the second place-getter going on to win his next start, and he should be afforded a similar run in transit from an identical gate.   BET NOW: Warwick Farm Race 2 Warwick Farm - Race 7 4:15pm AEDT No. 3 Marnix Marnix is capable of running a big race at odds.   The Richard Litt-trained five-year-old had plenty against him first-up at Canterbury but gave good chase once clear at the 150m mark to find the placings.   He’s run some honest races second-up in the past and is also a two-time winner here on his home track. With some luck from the wide draw, he should be running on late.  BET ...

Arguably the standout feature of Round 1 of the 2023 NRL premiership is the Dolphins’ historic debut match against Sydney Roosters at Suncorp Stadium on Sunday. The narrative of clubs’ maiden games is littered with memorable victories, spectacular near misses and deflating defeats, while just five of the 24 clubs that have been added to the competition after 1908 have recorded first-up wins. Relive the entry of every expansion team since the NSWRL began spreading beyond the Sydney metropolitan area in 1982 – ranked from worst to best. Canberra Raiders (1982) Canberra was controversially preferred to Campbelltown, Newcastle and Central Coast as the destination for the NSWRL’s 14th club, joining Illawarra as a 1982 premiership newcomer. But it was a lean season for the fledgling Raiders, with a 37-7 defeat to Souths at Redfern Oval in Round 1 setting the tone for a wooden-spoon campaign that garnered just four wins. Halfback Gerry de la Cruz became a rugby league quiz curiosity for ...