Raceday focus: Best bets, inside mail for Taree on Friday

Bantarki is ideally placed and well equipped to kick-off what shapes as a potentially big day for the local trainer Tony Ball at Taree on Friday.

Aaron Bullock will have plenty of admirers from punters in the TAB Jockeys Challenge

Daily Telegraph form analyst Shayne O’Cass gives his best bets and runs the rule over every race for Taree on Friday.

The Form: Complete NSW Racing thoroughbred form, including video replays and all you need to know about every horse, jockey and trainer. Find a winner here!

BEST BET

Race 1 No.3: Bantarki

Ultra reliable local who has the perfect draw, jockey, track.distance, you name it - to win.

NEXT BEST

Race 3 No.2: Otium

Barrier one and up to 1400m are two huge factors in this lightly-raced local’s favour.

VALUE BET

Race 7 No.3: Austeja

She is the track and distance specialist par excellence at Taree on Friday and is classy too.

QUADDIE

Race 5: 1,6

Race 6: 2,5,13

Race 7: 3

Race 8: 2,10

BEST EXOTIC

Exacta Race 1 No. 3 to beat No. 8

JOCKEY TO FOLLOW

Jockey’s Challenge contender Aaron Bullock could be the shortest priced favourite, on two or four legs, at Taree on Friday.

INSIDE MAIL

RACE 1

Bantarki is a genuine and reliable racehorse. The Tony Ball-trained local only needed another stride or two and he would be arriving here on a hat-trick. The keys are three; barrier two, Aaron Bullock and 1250m. Blue blooded mare Sumati has drawn well also for Stephen Jones and Grant Buckley who combined to win with Kia Ora’s Snitzel daughter at Muswellbrook last start. Could be on her way now. Balzando (whose 4th Dam is Emancipation) has claims.

Bet: Bantarki to win, exacta 3 to beat 8

RACE 2

Scud has placed at three of her four starts and wasn’t too bad in the other one. So far as Friday is concerned, she is third-up off two meritorious lead-ins. Finds herself the ideal race (again). Olimba generates a whole lot of interest being first-up, Her best run was on debut. Aaron Bullock has ridden him in all three starts so far and is there again on Friday and from the dream alley. Richattrack is the value runner. Electric Evie won a trial by a big space.

Bet: Scud to win, quinella 4,12

RACE 3

Otium is trained at Taree by Wayne Wilkes. Both of the gelding’s runs have been here at home and they were quite acceptable, certainly for a horse who SP’d at $31 and $18 respectively. Keep in mind that he had barrier 13 of 14 last start whereas this time he is box one and better still, up to 1400m. Former Chris Waller trained gelding Golden Honour is the big watch here as he prepares to make his stable debut for Glen Milligan. Secret Keeper hit his best stride third-up and can keep progressing.

Bet: Otium to win, exacta 2 to beat 7

RACE 4

Shihab was going so well that Glen Milligan sent him down to Rosehill on October 7 for the TAB Highway. Let’s just say that barrier 12 of 17 was the root cause of his issue on the day. Long story short, he only galloped at full pace for the last 150m/200m. Forgive and forget. Golden Button has finished first or second at half of his dozen starts. Got a favourable draw and is in well after the 3kg coming off. Market watch strongly advised on Echoes Of My Mind who gets his chance to win given this is 1600m.

Bet: Shihab to win

RACE 5

Scorched Land has drawn barrier three in Sunday’s Coonabarabran Cup which is worth double what the Krambach Cup is worth so he might be absent on Friday. Hunter Bred, the cleverly-named son of Denman has got better with each start preparation - and is holding that form now. The Darren Smith-trained gelding wasn’t beaten at all far at the midweeks two starts back and the one before that, he was runner-up to Ljunberg in an Open Handicap here. Shaka Rock turned in the best run of her current campaign with that Oct 1 third in the Cootamundra Cup.

Bet: Scorched Land to win or if scratched Hunter Bred to win

RACE 6

Oakfield Badger is a first-starter on Friday for prominent owner/breeder Bruce Mackenzie and Kristen Buchanan. He is a very well-bred gelding bred on the extended Exceed And Excel/Lonhro cross which works. It’s worked well enough in this horses’ case looking at those two ripper trials. Angela Davies and Andrew Gibbons share a 27 per cent winning strike-rate. They team up here with Ain’t She Swell who seems to be a horse improving with each passing day judging on the trajectory of her trials. Rapt has also accepted for Kembla on Saturday.

Bet: Oakfield Badger to win

RACE 7

Austeja’s numbers tell the story. The Wayne Wilkes-trained mare has won six races, five of them have been here at Taree. What’s more, her record at Taree is eight starts for five wins and two thirds. Even better again, Austeja is unbeaten in her two Taree 1250m assignments. If this was wet, she’d be a moral, but so long as she gets clear, she can still beat them on a Good track. Dual TAB Highway winner Proverbial is a minor query - on form at least - at 1250m but far less so in this company (bar Austeja). Razzama races well here at home too.

Bet: Austeja to win

RACE 8

Telegraph looks good on paper (sorry, that was too easy) with some really compelling stats. Granted, he hasn’t won first-up but he has placed three times in those five outings. On top of that, the Tony Ball-trained local has placed two of three at the Taree 1000m. Midori Glory was scratched from Hawkesbury to run here. He won - brilliantly I might add - on debut and was far from disgraced at Kembla in a 56.20sec 1000m Class 1. Like the song says, he’s getting better all the time. Gold Counter is fast and that helps anywhere, but definitely here.

Bet: Telegraph to win, Midori Glory each-way, quinella 2,10