Race day focus: Best bets, inside mail for Coffs Harbour

A lightly-raced daughter of So You Think from the Kris Lees yard should pack too many guns for her rivals at Coffs Harbour. BEST BET, INSIDE MAIL

Trainer Kris Lees can add to his terrific strike-rate at Coffs Harbour with Show Me Your Love. Picture: Getty Images

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

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!

COFFS HARBOUR

BEST BET

Race 3, No.1: SHOW ME YOUR LOVE

Kris Lees-trained mare who is streets ahead of her rivals on form. Entitled to be short and winning.

NEXT BEST

Race 7, No.14: POINTILLISM

Finished fourth at her only two runs so far, both at Grafton, when doing her best work late. Can peak now.

VALUE BET

Race 5, No.15: NOT TAKING IT

Tuncurry-housed mare who is winless after 15 starts but has placed seven times and gets her big chance to end the drought.

BEST EXOTIC

Quinella Race 7, Nos. 2,14

QUADDIE

Race 5: 3,4,15

Race 6: 6,7,9,10

Race 7: 2,14

Race 8: 5,8,10

Matthew Bennett has a great of rides at Coffs Harbour on Thursday.

JOCKEY TO FOLLOW

Matthew Bennet has enough horsepower (before scratchings) to give the TAB Jockeys Challenge a shake.

THE INSIDE MAIL FOR COFFS HARBOUR

RACE 1

Rose Bouquet is a blue-blood of considerable proportions; suffice to say that her third dam is Rose Of Portland, then comes Rose Of Kingston and Kingston Rose, etc. As for the mare herself, Rose Bouquet has had 24 starts and finished on the podium 15 times. Granted only three are wins but mark Nov 11 down as one of them. Gobbled is a tough as teak local who has been consistent the whole way through. One for one here at home. Klopp has drawn to be prominent throughout.

Bet: Rose Bouquet to win, quinella 4,7

RACE 2

Cotton Caper has won five races; three on Heavy, one on Soft but the fact that she has a Good 4 win gives her a cautious tick if we are indeed on a Good 4 here. That said, there were some showers forecast for the day. Whatever the case, she is very well placed here at home bearing in mind she has won three at Coffs Harbour. Trogir has only won six races out of 54 starts but he has 18 placings, 14 of those are seconds. Third-up here and getting towards his better trips. Midweeks Hussler has raced well at Coffs Harbour in the past.

Bet: Cotton Caper to win

RACE 3

Show Me Your Love will be pretty short here. Just a quick stat worth mentioning; her trainer Kris Lees has a 28.6 per cent winning strike-rate here at Coffs Harbour and he is almost certain to increase that figure depending on who comes. Show Me Your Love was honourable in defeat in that Class 1 at Kembla last. Haslake is ‘one from 18’ but he has placed eight times; that’s his pattern at work. Track, trip, jockey - all ticks. Poet’s Performer is another one with a poor winning strike-rate but one of her best runs was at this venue at his only visit.

Bet: Show Me Your Love to win

Jockey Aaron Bullock rides short-priced favourite Show Me Your Love.

RACE 4

Storm Giver was bought by Ciaron Maher for $130,000 as a yearling in New Zealand in 2020. The son of Contributer is a half-brother to Wakeful winner Thunder Lady and a close relative of Levendi. This is his debut and he makes it at home given that he is stationed with David Matts. The gelding finished a nose second in a 955 trial at Grafton on November 18 behind another Coffs Harbour local and Karaka sale graduate in Swift Charm. Toss of a coin job on the trial; perhaps the market will work it out for us. Honourable has good race experience.

Bet: Storm Giver to win, quinella 2,3

RACE 5

Not Taking It hasn’t been able to crack it for a win in 17 starts so far but she has managed seven placings and five of those are seconds. In fact, she finished runner-up at both of her November starts, the last one at Grafton where she wasn’t beaten far. Gets another rather sizeable opportunity to breakthrough. Ausbred Yahoo is a locally-trained mare by Helmet. Lightly-raced, she has the form to win but just needs a touch of luck from the outside draw. Devil’s Where finished an unhurried third in the Swift Charm trial.

Bet: Not Taking It to win

RACE 6

Cirebon finished all over the top of her Kris Lees-trained stablemate Lady Chartwell and the handy enough Canny Prospect to win at Port Macquarie on November 10. It’s not an easy task for any horse to win on debut and this was more than like a pretty decent quality maiden too. Cirebon’s main threat (if she comes) is the stablemate Akauwheo. Akauwheo is a daughter of Ribchester who was good on debut when third at Beaumont. Fast forward three weeks and she went to Scone and led throughout this time to win her 1400m maiden. The local, Ilovethegame, has raced at the track and distance two for a second and a third.

Bet: Cirebon to win or if scratched Akauwheo to win

Mikayla Weir partners Pointillism at Coffs Harbour on Thursday. Picture: Getty Images

RACE 7

Pointillism was $19 on debut and ran an eye-catching fourth at Grafton over 1115m. She was $2.60 16-days later there in a 1420m maiden and ran fourth again. Me? I had her marked as a good thing that day given how much she should have relished the seven furlongs being out of a Galileo mare. Anyway, she wasn’t so poor as to warrant sacking so let’s see if she can atone here. Dante Aligheri must surely be getting close to a win. He has placed at four of five this prep. Eager to see what the Terry Evans-trained grey Kiwi-bred gelding Titanicus can produce on debut off a good trial win.

Bet: Pointillism to win

RACE 8

Vilified is a half-brother to Everest winner and Randwick 1200m course record holder, Yes Yes Yes. Vilified by the way is an entire and we know that his trainer Colt Prosser plans to stand the horse at stud next season presumably. Vilified has won twice in four starts this prep. He just finished all over the top of them at Port Macquarie last time out. Moskeeta won back-to-back races in the district in the winter leading to a failed Highway attempt on Sept 3. Loves it here at home. Pontoon Pete went out on a win and trialled up really well the other day.

Bet: Vilified to win, box trifecta 5,8,10,13

Originally published as Race day focus: Best bets, inside mail for Coffs Harbour