Welcome to Weekend Winners, your one-stop tipping sheet for Saturday's big meetings.
STAR BET – GIBRALTAR GIRL (Randwick - Race 9 No. 6) – When both Paul and Clint declare one the best the discussion in the Weekend Winners tip meeting passes straight over the star bet (or the boys start to sulk). They were in the office on Thursday declaring this Peter and Paul Snowden-trained mare is basically 'a put in takeout job'. Here's Paul's reasoning "There will be suitable pace up front and the prospect of a good racing surface propel her from a good bet to a good thing. If you want some convincing – check out her latest Randwick trial. I've been waiting three months for her and I'm not going to miss out – time for a bet" and this is what Clint had to say "The first massive tick is we're going to be on a good track because this mare is a much better horse when on top of the ground. Go back and look at her first couple of runs last prep and they were on a swamp. Her trials leading up to this have been great and they will run along which plays into her hands. This one's a no brainer for me – the more you bet the more you win". Who are we to argue.
VALUE TIP – HIGHLAND BEAT (Caulfield – Race 3 No. 4) – He can be a hard horse to catch but on Saturday he's the right odds to have a go. He showed he's going well four and five runs back when having zero luck before a strong performance behind Revolving Door at Moonee Valley then being rewarded with a Listed win in the Creswick at Flemington. He's yet to win at Caulfield but he's finished second in five of his 10 runs at the track and his record at 1100m is similar. With the big field this should be run to suit and we're happy to chance the arm on an each-way basis at around $20.
SWITCHAROO TIP – JEANNEAU ( Caulfield Race 1 No. 9) – The only bad run this mare has put in this preparation was on the heavy track at Randwick two starts back and a heavy Randwick can bring plenty undone. She's had a stable switch since her last run joining the astute Robert Smerdon team and her last run reads well – beaten three lengths by Arbeitsam. Dwayne Dunn jumps aboard and she should get a good run from barrier 5, happy to be aboard at the odds.
AUSTRALIAN POLITICS TIP – RISQUE ( Caulfield Race 2 No. 1) – It's been a big week down in Canberra and we think this Hayes/Dabernig-trained mare covers the antics of both Barnaby Joyce and Pauline Hanson. So a few weeks ago Section 44 was "black and white" according to Barnaby but now that he's a Kiwi citizen it's a bit more grey. Then we get to Pauline's stunt on Thursday – oh dear. This Kiwi-bred isn't sure if she's the AAC or the NZ in ANZAC and her name certainly doesn't fit the One Nation leader's choice of clothing in the senate on Thursday. This mare is a proven Group I performer that has solid first-up stats and has looked good in her jumpouts. She'll run a race.
JARRYD HAYNE TIP – MORE TO GAIN ( Randwick Race 4 No. 7) – What about this bloke. He hasn't fired a shot for a few years and now the Gold Coast Titans are talking about giving the coach the flick because Jarryd doesn't like him. Maybe, just maybe the Titans would have 'more to gain' by pensioning off Jarryd so he can go and play with Anthony Mundine and they can tell each other how good they are, were? Back to the horse, he's got a genuine chance in an open race on Saturday after his solid performance first-up. A bit like the Titans he can miss the start and make his task harder than it needs to be but that first-up run was super. He's got an excellent second-up record and you can do sillier things than have something on him on Saturday.
TRIAL TIP – SANCTIONED ( Randwick Race 5 No. 9) – This Godolphin three-year-old has been one of the more impressive carnival candidates in recent weeks when strutting his stuff at the barrier trials. His first trial win was soft when kept under a tight rein and then his turn of foot when asked was impressive. We like the fact he was asked to do something in his second trial knowing he's facing 1300m here first-up. He has the tactical speed to take up a forward spot and control the race and we're tipping he's gone to another level since we've last seen him.
STATISTIC TIP – THE RUMOUR FILE (Doomben Race 6 No. 4) – This import has been building encouragingly early in his preparation and we're jumping aboard on Saturday. After getting a pass mark when resuming against Saturday grade in Sydney, trainer Chris Waller shipped him to the new Queensland base and with a big class drop he was OK when close up in third place without having a lot of luck at the Gold Coast last time out. The key to his chances on Saturday is his record of a win and placing in two previous third-up runs. Last preparation, back in November he won a benchmark 78 at Rosehill against Saturday class and it's fair to say he didn't go as well as he has first-up and second-up this prep. We get Damian Browne in the saddle and they're betting each-way odds. Time to play.
MOUNTAIN CLIMBING TIP – VEGA MAGIC ( Caulfield Race 8 No. 1) – When the Hayes/Dabernig stable secured The Star's slot for the $10m The Everest this horse was one of the stable stars mentioned as a possible candidate to run in the rich weight-for-age sprint. Therefore, it's fair to expect he'd be able to carry his hefty 60.5kg impost and deal with the lot he faces in the Regal Roller on Saturday. His jumpouts have been good and we're happy to back the stable's judgement and and expect he'll prove too good over a trip he's won at eight time from 11 goes.
