A Blake Shinn ride for the John Thompson stable on a mare who had no luck in a strong form race last start stands out as the day’s best bet at Hawkesbury.
In fact, this columnist will sink or swim on the trainer/jockey combination with Shinn and Thompson partnering on two of our three top bets.
OUR BELISA (Race 7 No 1)
Our Belisa has only returned to the winner’s stall once in her 12 career starts and that was a Kembla maiden victory over a year ago but she has contested stronger races in the interim including a runner-up finish at Randwick last preparation.
Our Belisa should have finished closer at Kembla resuming finishing third in a fillies and mares class one after blowing the start by a good two-lengths and the performance is exemplified even further when you consider the efforts of the two horses that finished in front of her in their subsequent run.
The winner Za Zi Ba won at Canterbury on October 4 with the runner-up Aanvoerder winning at Gosford one day later.
Expecting Blake Shinn to position Our Belisa more forward in the run launching from barrier one stepping up in distance on Sunday and the mare gets the chance to record career win number two in the Kaboodle Finance F&M Class 1 Handicap (1400m).
KRYSTAL (Race 6 No 3)
Shinn also rides the stablemate Krystal who will appreciate the step up to a mile in the Richardson and Wrench Maiden Handicap (1600m).
Krystal has finished in the placings in three of her five starts to date including a close third at Kembla last time out charging late to just miss reeling in the first and second horses after having no luck at the same track resuming two runs back.
The engagement for Shinn on the four-year-old mare looks a positive jockey change with an apprentice having the ride in her first two runs this preparation and Krystal is ready to win peaking third-up.
DYNAMIC BID (Race 4 No 2)
Dynamic Bid having his first start for Gabrielle Englebrecht has to overcome two last-start maiden winners in the Windsor-Hawkesbury South Lions Club Benchmark 62 Handicap (1000m) who are shorter in early betting but has the credentials to do so.
A Goulburn winner earlier in his preparation, Dynamic Bid has been placed in four of his five subsequent runs and has the early speed to overcome the outside barrier draw.
A runner-up finish in a benchmark 69 last start for Dynamic Bid looks a superior form reference to the maiden wins of Malaigo and Dreamy Belle and at longer odds in early betting the Englebrecht runner represents the value in the race.
