2016 Zipping Classic Betting Tips
The $300,000 Group 2 Zipping Classic is the feature race on the card at Sandown Hillside on Saturday, and it looks to be a very competitive race at that. We have five runners coming out of the Melbourne Cup, with three of those being internationals. SO SI BON adds a completely different dimension to the race coming out of the Victoria Derby, and is the sole three-year-old in the race with just 50.5kg on his back.
Even though SECRET NUMBER led in the Cup I expect BIG ORANGE to lead from barrier 2 here. He simply needs to be out the front to be comfortable with his big stride. Secret Number will probably sit outside him from barrier 6, while TRISTRAM’S SON went forward in a change of tactics last start so will probably do the same. WHO SHOT THEBARMAN might sit in the box seat from barrier 1 as he did two starts ago in the Moonee Valley Cup and Beautiful Romance should settle midfield from barrier 5. So Si Bon draws the widest barrier here so expect him to go back with ALMOONQITH and TRANSFER ALLOWANCE.
Big Orange was never a hope in the Melbourne Cup with the expected tempo, and it played out exactly as predicted with about 6 horses fighting for the lead. There’s much less speed on paper here so he should have every chance from the front. It was only two starts ago that he carried 58kg to victory over 2400m in the Princess Of Wales Stakes at Newmarket, beating home The Grey Gatsby and Exospheric, and that form makes him very appealing here.
BEAUTIFUL ROMANCE was the best of the internationals engaged here in the Melbourne Cup, finishing 7th beaten near on 8 lengths. It was a very solid run given she knuckled at the start, and she is a Group 2 winner over 2100m in the UK. A repeat of her run last start would see her very competitive in this, but Damian Lane jumps off to ride Big Orange.
The last international is Secret Number, who took about 1600m to lead the Melbourne Cup. Won’t have to do as much work here, and his record around this distance is very good. He’s finished in the top 2 at 9 of his 14 starts, and it was this time last year that he ran a game second to Dandino over 2600m at Flemington.
Almoonqith ran a good race in the Melbourne Cup to finish 6th, beaten 7 lengths. Before that he ran a blinder in the Caulfield Cup to finish 4th, and the stable believe he is better at 2400m. Damien Oliver is a strong booking and he won the Sandown Cup by a huge margin after the Cup last year.
So Si Bon is the interesting runner and the possible X factor here. He gets in with just 50.5kg, which over 2400m makes a huge difference. I have a few queries though. It’s not easy for a three-year-old to run 2500m once, let alone back up two weeks later and do it again against the older, more seasoned Group 1 horses. The weight relief and the possibility of rain certainly help, but I can’t back him here against the older horses more experienced at this level.
The last one to consider is Who Shot Thebarman, who is my top pick here. I think he’s absolutely flying and if he drew a barrier in the Cup he would have finished top 3. He came out and won this race last year by about a furlong so the drop back to 3200m should be no problem. Draws a perfect barrier for Hugh Bowman and any drop of rain wouldn’t hurt. I just have a few questions over some of the others but I have no questions about this horse so he should be going close. Sticking with the Barman.
1st WHO SHOT THEBARMAN
2nd BIG ORANGE
3rd BEAUTIFUL ROMANCE
4th SECRET NUMBER
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