Big 4 analysis: Railway, The Gong, Ballarat Cup, The Warra

The Racenet team has analysed the Big 4 races of the day across Australia on Saturday.

Tim Clark on Atishu returns to scale after winning at Royal Randwick in September. (Photo by Mark Evans/Getty Images)

It’s another big day of racing across the nation with some quality fields.

The crew has analysed the Big 4 races of the day which includes the Group 1 Railway Stakes in the West.

Eleven Eleven wins at the Gold Coast earlier this year. Picture: Trackside Photography

THE WARRA (Kembla Grange Race 7) — 4PM AEDT

ELEVEN ELEVEN and MALKOVICH clearly look the two best chances and the market reflects that. At the odds, have to put ELEVEN ELEVEN on top. At $7, he looks a great each way bet from his good draw in barrier 5. He gets in with 56kg after the claim from Tyler Schiller and gets 1.5kg off MALKOVICH. ELEVEN ELEVEN has some form around some very good horses and if he can settle within striking distance over 1000m he can run them down in the straight. MALKOVICH is racing extremely well but looks short enough at $2.10. Is he that short because of the J-Mac factor? ISAURIAN is another racing in good form if he can offset 59kg and a wide gate. LASHES and OUR BELLAGIO MISS look the best of the roughies to fill a first 4 slot.

Verdict: Eleven Eleven (1) — Malkovich (3) — Isaurian (2) — Our Bellagio Miss (8).

Foxy Frida winning her last start at Flemington. (George Sal/Racing Photos via Getty Images)

BALLARAT CUP (Ballarat Race 8) — 4.20PM AEDT

FOXY FRIDA is a horse on the up who will settle back from her wide gate and can bide her time. She has the in-form Daniel Moor in the saddle and drops 3.5kg from her last start win when she beat some handy horses at Flemington. She’s ran in the top 2 nine times from her 11 starts and the worst position she’s finished in a race is 5th. Going to 2000m for the first time should be no issue. FOXY FRIDA is trained on the track which is another plus and she has a sense of timing about her. THOUGHT OF THAT and SKYMAN are both racing well and get in well at the weights. SKYMAN will get a suck run from gate 3 and just needs luck in the straight to be right in the finish. He has the Chris Waller polish. ZAYYDANI comes off a strong last start win at Flemington and can win again. Would be surprised if anything outside of the top 4 in betting win.

Verdict: Foxy Frida (16) — Skyman (15) — Thought Of That (11) — Zayydani (6).

Atishu wins under Kerrin McEvoy at Randwick in August. (Photo by Mark Evans/Getty Images)

THE GONG (Kembla Grange Race 8) — 4.40PM AEDT

ATISHU didn’t have the best of luck in the Golden Eagle and should have finished closer after settling near last after drawing a wide gate. She ran her last 600m in 34.14 seconds and Glyn Schofield didn’t get a chance to get at her with his whip in the straight. The head-on vision shows she kept running into backsides so forget she went around. Before that she was only 1.8 lengths off them in the Epsom and that looks the right form. 54kg, barrier 7 and Kerrin McEvoy are other positives and she looks a great each-way play around $6.50. COUNT DE RUPEE meets ATISHU 1.5kg worse from the Golden Eagle but he’s a top notch galloper who will make his presence felt despite a wide draw. NUDGE has been screaming out for a mile and she gets it here and looks good odds around $18. YAMAZAKI is another who will enjoy 1600m and with her good gate and light weight she looks well over the odds at $41. Blinkers go on. RICH HIPS comes up from Melbourne after a good win at Flemington and looks a winning chance.

Verdict: Atishu (11) — Nudge (6) — Count De Rupee (4) — Yamazaki (16).

William Pike salutes aboard Regal Power in the 2019 Railway Stakes. Can the cerise and white colours win it for the fourth time in succession? Picture: Westernracepix

RAILWAY STAKES (Ascot Race 8) — 7.45PM AEDT

It’s not often you get to declare one in a Group 1 (Winx and Black Caviar aside) but WESTERN EMPIRE ticks all the boxes and looks the winner. He’s drawn a low gate, has barrier 3, the minimum weight (53kg) and has that man William Pike in the saddle. He won like a world beater first-up and has been set for this all preparation. The Grant & Alana Williams team know what it takes to win the race and they’ve won the last three runnings with horses on the minimum (Inspirational Girl, Regal Power, Galaxy Star). The only thing that can beat him is bad luck and given it’s a 16-horse field that is a possibility. MASSIMO and VALOUR ROAD come out of the Lee Steere Stakes where they ran 1-2 and that’s always a great form reference for this race. NOTORIOUS ONE has drawn well and will make his presence felt.

Verdict: Western Empire (16) — Massimo (2) — Notorious One (12) — Valour Road (1).

Originally published as Big 4 analysis: Railway, The Gong, Ballarat Cup, The Warra