The $30,000 The Warwick Pace (2130m) is the feature event on the nine-event card at Gloucester Park on Friday night.
The Greg and Skye Bond-trained Street Hawk is expected to go around as a short-priced favourite in The Warwick and members of the WA Trotting Media Guild have looked elsewhere to find their best bets.
Veteran tipster Pat Harding, who found five winners on last week’s card, is keen on Glenledi Chief in race four.
“This Friday night looks like being a night for short-priced favourites and again the Greg and Skye Bond-combination looks like dominating the meeting,” Harding said. “My best bet comes up in race four with No. 5 Glenledi Chief. Had another excellent win last week and should make it three in a row.”
TABradio’s Matt Young has made Pradason his star bet for the evening.
“Pradason drops in grade and finds a perfect draw,” Young said. “He excels as a frontrunner and looks very hard to beat.”
Award-winning journalist Ken Casellas and Guild president Wayne Currall have settled on Twobob Cracker as their best bet.
“Two major factors combine to make Twobob Cracker a standout bet at Gloucester Park on Friday night – and they are a significant drop in class and drawing the prized No. 1 barrier in the 1730m Celebrating Jimmy Glennie’s Birthday Pace,” Casellas said. “The Glenn Elliott-trained WA-bred five-year-old is my best bet to set a brisk pace and prove too speedy for his eight rivals.”
And Currall agrees.
“Shannon Suvaljko will be keen to hold the front with Twobob Cracker,” Currall said. “The horse’s form reads well for a race of this calibre and Suvaljko will be looking for an all-the-way victory.”
The Sunday Times and The West Australian’s pacing expert Ernie Manning and The West’s racing co-ordinator Ryan Havercroft believe Fly To Fame can make it back-to-back wins in race eight.
“Talented filly Fly To Fame has a barrier-one bonus after three wins and two places from her past five starts,” Manning said. “The Kat Warwick-trained three-year-old, who showed class in two Gloucester Park wins late last year, was having her first start for seven weeks and faced the breeze when second at headquarters two weeks ago. She led and won in convincing style at Northam last Saturday night.”
And Havercroft agrees with his colleague’s take on the race.
“Fly To Fame has finished on the podium at her last five outings including two wins, mostly from wide draws,” Havercroft said. “The Kat Warwick-trained filly looks to have the favours here, drawing the inside gate and she showed good gate speed three starts back when testing the early leader before running third to one of her rivals here, Cabsav.”
VALUE BETS
PAT: My double comes up in race two with another Bond-trained horse, Steel The Show from barrier three. Had a good win after a spell and should make it two in a row over the sprint distance.
MATT: Tradie has been eye-catching as of late and can power home at big odds in the last.
KEN: For value, I suggest Ima Fivestar General from barrier two in the third event. He is likely to enjoy a perfect sit behind the frontrunning Talks Up A Storm and should unwind a powerful finishing burst.
WAYNE: On a night where it’s hard to find any value, I’ve settled on an all-up wager. Steel The Show into Street Hawk and finishing with Twobob Cracker. All will be short but I think they’ll be saluting.
RYAN: Mister Montblanc can play a part if he sits close enough to what could be a hot early pace in The Warwick. Will be tucked in on the fence and emerging late.
ERNIE: Eldaytona looks ready for a prosperous campaign and could regain the form he showed when winning at eight of 11 starts early last year. He has won only one of his past six races, but impressed when running on for a third last Friday night at his first appearance since finishing sixth in the Group 1 Golden Nugget two months earlier.
Click here to view all of the Media Guild tips for this week.
Good punting.