STAR BET - BALL OF MUSCLE (Randwick - Race 5 No. 1): Racing is a numbers game and Ball Of Muscle has the numbers. Undefeated around the 1000-metres at Randwick and has only been beaten once over the 1000-metre trip and that was under 60kg at Flemington when missed by a whisker. Has never finished outside of the top two from all four previous first-up attempts and has never missed a place from his 13-start career. Prospect of a soft track is no concern either - he's never finished outside of the quinella from four tries in the soft. Throw in a gun draw (gate three), strong trial win and the fact that Glyn Schofield has ridden the horse on six occasions for six wins. The numbers give it to Ball Of Muscle as the Star Bet this weekend.
VALUE TIP - SASENKILE (Randwick - Race 1 No. 2): A proven wet tracker with conditions sure to suit at Randwick yet the market still has him priced for a good track. $13 is big overs for this 2000-metre specialist and an each-way bet is strongly recommended. Drew the outside gate when resuming on a dry track over 1400-metres and got a mile out of his ground before making good ground late. Trainer Tony McEvoy has given us a good leg-up by going straight to the 2000-metres second-up - it shows how forward Sasenkile is this campaign. Drawn ideally in gate two so 2kg apprentice Serg Lisnyy should be guaranteed a good smother in transit.
PIZZA & PASTA TIP - SVENDITA (Morphettville - Race 2 No. 13): Our Italian fans will be quick to jump on this tip. Svendita is by I Am Invincible out of Sellout and Svendita is the Italian word for clearance sale or sell out. Debuted here at big odds over 1000-metres in a small field and was never a winning chance in an unusually slowly run affair. Sure to improve with that experience and the big field here will guarantee a faster pace up front. But the biggest lead has been the market support. Opening at well into the double-figures, she has been hammered into a current top price of $4.80. Svendita might be Italian, but money speaks all languages.
VALLEY SPECIALIST TIP - THE CLEANER (Moonee Valley - Race 7 No. 5): One thing you know if you take the $7 on offer about The Cleaner is that you will get a great run for your money. A bold frontrunner with a will to win (18 victories), he is a ready-made horse for the tight Moonee Valley circuit and has statistics here of (7:4-1-1). The only time he missed a place here was in last year's Cox Plate when beaten 3-1/4 lengths behind Adelaide. Proved first-up with a fighting second in Group II grade that he's back in top form and we expect the brave eight-year-old to take plenty of beating around the mile at his favourite hunting ground.
SLEEK SHEIKH TIP - ALMOONQITH (Moonee Valley - Race 9 No. 1): Usually it's our best horses that end up heading overseas to enhance their careers but in this case we have a Group winner from Dubai now racing in Australia. The David Hayes and Tom Dabernig-trained won at Group III level in Dubai over 2800-metres and went terrific at his first Australian start over an unsuitable 1500-metres around Moonee Valley. The six-year-old by the Dynaformer, the same sire as 2010 Melbourne Cup winner Americain, chased right to the line behind another import The United States to be beaten only one length. Guaranteed to improve off that run, suited getting out to 2040-metre and coming up with gate one makes the $6.50 on offer a very attractive investment.
IN THE KNOW TIP - LAST SIGHT (Doomben - Race 6 No. 7): Lindsay Hatch might not be a household name to most punters, but those within the industry know what a talented trainer of racehorses he is. A stint in Victoria with John Sadler and then a big move to Peter and Paul Snowden's Darley operation gave Hatch a wealth of experience most trainers can only dream about. But a move back to his old stomping ground of Toowoomba has already resulted in a host of winners, in fact he's trained four winners from his past 14 runners. Last Sight is a well-bred ex-Victorian (Fastnet Rock x Arborea) and was backed from $5 into $4.20 when scoring an easy win on the Gold Coast two weeks back. Drawn well at Doomben on Saturday and with the money coming thick and fast, Last Sight is a worthy contender for Weekend Winners.
BART CUMMINGS TIP - PRECEDENCE (Randwick - Race 6 No. 11): We're not saying to bet-up on this evergreen 10-year-old but on a day when we remember and reflect on the amazing life and achievements of the one and only Bart Cummings, a couple of dollars each-way at 100/1 certainly won't hurt the budget. And one thing we will say is that James Cummings has the old-boy looking an absolute treat as he prepares for a possible tilt at his fifth Melbourne Cup. First-up form is much better than it appears on paper and from barrier one, Tim Clark might be able to keep the leaders within reach while some of the other first-uppers will have no option but to drift out the back. We'll all rise to our feet and cheer should Precedence loom in the straight and we'll be cheering even louder with a ticket in the pocket.
$50 QUADDIE STRATEGY - RANDWICK: A $50 investment will return 27.78 percent if successful.
1st leg: 1, 3
2nd leg: 1, 2, 11, 14, 16
3rd leg: 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 13, 14
4th leg: 6, 9
$50 QUADDIE STRATEGY - MOONEE VALLEY: A $50 investment will return 16.66 percent of the dividend if successful.
1st leg: 2, 7, 8, 9, 10
2nd leg: 3, 4, 5
3rd leg: 1, 2, 4, 14
4th leg: 1, 5, 6, 10, 15