TAB On The Punt: Nathan Exelby previews the meeting at Doomben

Queensland racing expert Nathan Exelby is tipping Ef Troop to end the winning run of Shooting For Gold at Doomben. BEST BETS, QUADDIE

Ef Troop can upset favourite Shooting For Gold at Doomben. Picture: AAP

Sky Racing and Brisbane Racing Club’s turf expert Nathan Exelby runs his eye over Saturday’s meeting at Doomben.

BEST BETS

Tramonto, R3 No.5 – $2.90

He was very competitive in some nice races over the carnival and this is a nice drop back in grade for him.

Ziemba, R4 No.5 – $7

Likely gets back to near last from the gate, but there’s an even tempo here and he’s sure to run on strongly.

Purroni, R6 No.5 – $9.50

Plenty of chances in this race, but think this sets up nicely for her, sitting off a likely good speed and letting rip in the straight.

MONEY TALKS

Race 1: Hamlet Von Snitzel $2-$1.75

Race 2: London Banker $2.20-$1.90

Race 3: Tramonto $3.30-$2.90, Kavak $12-$10

Race 5: Wham $5-$3.50, Alderman $8-$6

Race 7: So Clever $2.50-$2.25 (before scratchings) now $2, Far Too Easy, Race 7, $7-$3.80

Really Discreet, $2.80-$2.60 (before Acrobatic scratching), now $2

Randwick:

Race 8: Remarque $3.40-$3.30, Sky Command $8-$4.20

Ziemba should get the tempo to finish strongly. Picture: AAP

THE QUADDIE

RACE 6: TAB VENUE MODE F&M HCP (1200M)

Strong race and looks to be good speed, which gives Purroni ($9.50) the chance to run on. The Ipswich formline looks good and she was left in front a long way from home. She Can Sing ($4.20) is possibly the best horse here. Her fate will be known early from the outside gate. Giving Power Boom ($8.50), who hit the line well enough over 1000m first-up, and Frozen In Time ($21) up from Sydney a chance as well. Dis Dah Wun ($3.60) has a couple of gear changes after not firing at end of last prep. She looked super sharp early and anything like that will be good enough for this.

SELECTIONS: 5 Purroni, 13 She Can Sing, 6 Frozen In Time, 9 Power Boom, 3 Dis Dah Wun

RACE 7: COUNTRY MUSIC WEEKEND C, G & E HCP (1200M)

Scratchings thin it out and to be honest it’s not a race I’m overly keen on. So Clever ($2) was in trouble from the get-go last time and that probably told in the end, even though he did look the winner at the 100m. Far Too Easy ($3.70) is poorly weighted as an early season three-year-old, but has looked impressive to date. Given this is not the strongest field we’ve seen in Brisbane, wouldn’t surprise to see him overcome that weight difference (he would meet So Clever 7kg better at weight-for-age). Angus The Black ($17) is handy on his day and the scratchings help him in that he has less traffic to navigate past now and can run on strongly.

SELECTIONS: 11 So Clever, 12 Far Too Easy, 4 Angus The Black

RACE 8: SKY RACING OPEN HANDICAP (1110M)

Shooting For Gold ($1.90) is set to run odds-on for the third time in as many runs this preparation. Can he keep the unblemished record intact? Little doubt this is his toughest test – up in class and has a poor draw from the tricky start. Baylee Nothdurft’s early tactics will be interesting. Ef Troop ($4) should be ready to peak now and he gets a gun run on the speed. He’s going to be hard to catch here after tough effort at Eagle Farm. Desert Man ($14) was no match for Shooting For Gold last time, but back to Doomben, where he races well, he can give a sight. Totally Charmed ($5) was awesome first-up, but can he come from last around Doomben?

SELECTIONS: 7 Ef Troop, 5 Shooting For Gold, 8 Desert Man

RACE 9: JOCKEY CELEBRATION DAY (1350M)

Scratchings thin this out a bit. No doubt Really Discreet ($2) is going to be hard to beat, She’s shown a real liking for Doomben and draws much better here than her main rivals. She’s going to take beating again. At the odds though, I’m happy to spec At Witz End ($9/$2.50). Good win under the weight at Ipswich, then struck a similar field to this one over this course and put them to the sword 28 days ago. Brad Stewart is there to help offset the draw and no reason he can’t finish off strongly again. Roman Aureus ($6) was no match for At Witz End, but then improved again and went enormous when narrowly rolled by Ulysses here two weeks ago.

SELECTIONS: 3 At Witz End, 13 Really Discreet, 4 Roman Aureus

AWAY FROM HOME

King Of Hastings (Flemington, Race 8, $8) returns to Melbourne after taking the Glasshouse on the Sunshine Coast. He’s been effective up the straight previously and don’t think this is any harder than the field he took care of up here. At Randwick, Remarque (Race 8, $3.30) makes his return in the Rosebud, having won two trials in readiness. Showed huge promise last season, winning on debut, then running well in a hot Todman.