Race day focus: Best bets, inside mail for Port Macquarie, Tamworth

A Paul Shailer-trained mare can build on her impressive home track record at Port Macquarie on Friday. BEST BETS, INSIDE MAIL

Trainer Paul Shailer saddles up two great chances in Swing The Tide and So And So at Port Macquarie on Friday. Picture: AAP Image

Daily Telegraph form analyst Shayne O’Cass gives his best bets and runs the rule over the Quaddie legs at Port Macquarie and Tamworth.

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!

PORT MACQUARIE

BEST BET

Race 7, No.11: SWING THE TIDE

Ben Looker has ridden this mare twice only, both times at Port Macquarie, and won both races, easily too,

NEXT BEST

Race 1, No.3: SO AND SO

Paul Shailer and Ben Looker again; this time with a last start winner and very fit son of So You Think.

VALUE BET

Race 6, No.2: REGGIE’S BOY

Lightly-raced gelding who could rocket through the grades from today onwards on the proviso he handles the Heavy going.

QUADDIE

Race 5: 2,7

Race 6: 1,2

Race 7: 11

Race 8: 2

Ben Looker rides strong chances Swing The Tide and So And So.

JOCKEY TO FOLLOW

Ben Looker has should be able to tally up enough points to win the Jockeys Challenge baring any scratchings.

TAMWORTH

BEST BET

Race 6, No.8: KANALAIDE

Son of Adelaide who was one of the eye-catchers on the entire meeting here on July 22. Second-up and on his way to a peak

NEXT BEST

Race 4, No.13: LEIPZIG

Tracey Bartley-trained filly who finished off dutifully first-up here 10-days ago. Good draw, good jockey.

VALUE BET

Race 5, No.8: SHEN GUI

Emergency for Saturday's Highway at Rosehill. This race is tailor-made for him on a few levels.

THE INSIDE MAIL FOR PORT MACQUARIE

RACE 5

Annulus is a lightly-raced son of Your Song whose consistency is plain to all; specifically - six starts for a win, two seconds and a third. He has come back in fantastic shape too. He was just too good for The Seven Seas at Scone which is no mean feat. This is no easy task with the wide draw and big weight on a Heavy track but he is on an upward trajectory. Cotton Caper is two things; one, a barnstormer and two, a deadset mudlark. It truly is a case of the wetter the better for this daughter of Mossman. Apache Blue has won two of three starts on Heavy tracks.

Bet: Annulus to win

RACE 6

Reggie’s Boy is another Your Song, he is actually from the same crop as the aforementioned Annulus and like him, ‘Reg’ is a monumentally consistent racehorse. The Angela Davies-trained gelding has a win and three seconds from his five starts. Resumes in an ideal race off some good trials. The only caveats are the draw and the heavy track. Maybe there is a third caveat - Hypnosis. This Nathan Doyle-trained gelding has finished with a medal at 8 of his 10 outings and best of all, he is a last start winner here and bolted in too.

Bet: Reggie’s Boy to win, quinella 1,2

RACE 7

Swing The Tide is a daughter of Ocean Park who has had 16 career starts but only four for Paul Shailer. For the record, they are two seconds which she followed up with two wins. What is notable about her wins is that there were both here at Port Macquarie and Ben Looker rode her in each one. Prince Akeen has found the line as well as anything and better than most in fact at his last couple since that win at Warren. Visceral might be our leader in the race and depending on ‘pressure’, she could prove hard to pass again.

Bet: Swing The Tide to win

RACE 8

Don’t Doubt Katie is another one of these mega-consistent horses in the Port Macquarie quaddie. This Nathan Doyle-trained mare has raced six times for two wins and three placings. Does seem to be significant (and appealing) to note that she is one for one over this same track and distance and it was a Heavy 8 that afternoon. Wannawinwin is also one for one at the track/distance; in her case it came as recently as August 1 and of course it was a Heavy 8 as well. Phases won by panels one day at Dubbo. Resumes from a good draw with a good trial under his belt - and Ben Looker.

Bet: Don’t Doubt Katie to win

THE INSIDE MAIL FOR TAMWORTH

RACE 4

Leipzig is a Tracey Bartley-trained filly by Nicconi who has run twice only, either side of a spell, and you would have to grant her a passmark for each, particularly the debut at Quirindi in what was an above-average two-year-old race. Neddy likewise has run twice either side of a break and while his were not as good as Leipzig, he could run well here if they overdo it front and come back to him over the last bit. Take A Trip goes okay. Trivia time; her fifth dam is Tommy Smith’s 500/1 winner - Antelle.

Bet: Leipzig to win, Neddy to place

RACE 5

Shen Gui is an emergency for Saturday’s TAB Highway at Rosehill Gardens. Let’s assume that the Lou Mary-trained All Too Hard gelding races here instead (and Daskha doesn’t). Shen Gui is racing himself to a peak and on top of that, he is getting to the sort of distance that he needs. Mack Griffth has worked wonders in the short time that he has had Osman under his management. The son of American Pharoah has raced four times for the Griffith, winning twice including a big P.B last start at Forbes. Lonely Power has some very, very deep form.

Bet: Shen Gui to win, quinella 4,8, box trifecta 1,4,7,8

Mitchell Bell partners Shen Gui for trainer Lou Mary. Picture: Grant Guy

RACE 6

Kanalaide is a typical son of the Cox Plate winner, Adelaide. This Australian Bloodstock gelding is quite handy; not sure what Cody Morgan and the camp think but for what it is worth, I reckon he is Highway grade every day of the week in the right race at the right time. One thing we can all agree on, his first-up run had ‘next time’ written all over him. The Mitchell Snail is a handy, perhaps even above-average horse, but this is no easy task from the wide draw. Dimension is another of the Cody Morgan string; this one a Dundeel gelding on his way to a mile.

Bet: Kanalaide to win

RACE 7

Sammiballerina could just be the most interesting horse racing at Tamworth, nay all of New South Wales, on Friday. This is the Taree bred filly who is back in our region after winning the big two-year-old race at Rockhampton on April 9. Hard to properly line-up her form, near impossible in fact, but surely, she is up to winning a benchmark 58 in the country - and better after that. Mezinjit has the race fitness on ‘Sammi’ given that she was first-up winner at Scone albeit way back on June 14. Stablemate Emissive was runner-up at this track and distance on last start.

Bet: Sammiballerina to win

Originally published as Race day focus: Best bets, inside mail for Port Macquarie, Tamworth