Hawkesbury Racing: 2017 Hawkesbury Gold Cup Betting Tips
The Hawkesbury Gold Cup is the feature race of the day in Sydney this weekend with a maximum field of 16 set to line up.
The track is currently a Good 4 with fine weather throughout the day which is a pleasant change for a Sydney meeting!
In terms of speed in the race there should be a genuine tempo set with Fabrizio involved, who will be partnered by Testashadow, Moher and possibly Duca Valentinois up the front.
The race looks to contain a number of chances but there are five main contenders in my opinion, with Godolphin holding a strong hand in the race.
On top I’ve got Spectroscope, who went into the Doncaster Mile as an $8 chance after two successive wins to open his Australian career. This is a much easier assignment for him back in Group 3 company. It was only two starts ago that he won in Group 3 company in the Doncaster Prelude and if he were to reproduce that kind of form he’d be incredibly hard to beat in this field despite carrying more weight. He’s drawn to get a good run from barrier 5 and the gun Brenton Avdulla takes the reigns so he goes on top.
His stablemate Moher must also rate as a leading chance in this field with just 53kg on his back. He comes into this second up from a spell after a midfield finish first up at Randwick. He’s only ever placed once from five starts first up but he’s placed in three of his four second up runs which suggests to me he really needs that first up run. The step up to the mile is ideal and he gets the form jockey in the country on board in Kerrin McEvoy. At $13 he looks a great chance.
Kellyville Flyer also carries 53kg and actually won the race that Moher came out of last start. Granted, he performs well on wet ground, but his dry track form is by no means poor and his record at the track is fantastic so despite the wide barrier he is one to include.
The top weight Mighty Lucky also draws wide in barrier 13 but he’s got decent claims in a race like this. He finished 2 lengths off Redzel first up and he tends to improve sharply second up. He will relish getting onto firmer ground here and has a reasonable record at the distance too.
The final horse that I think could be the value in the race is Testashadow at odds of $23. Only two starts ago he finished less than half a length behind subsequent Group 1 winner It’s Somewhat. He’s won a trial since running in the Doncaster Handicap and from barrier 7 he’ll go forward and be there for a long way.
Firmly with Spectroscope here.
1st SPECTROSCOPE
2nd MOHER
3rd KELLYVILLE FLYER
4th TESTASHADOW
