Track Shape and Conditions

The Sapphire Coast Racecourse proper has a 2000m circumference with banked turns and an all round width of 30 metres.

It is often regarded as one of the best racing surfaces in Country NSW.

For a country track it is impressive, having a 400m home straight capable of rivalling Randwick.

The weather is set to be a scorcher this Saturday for the running of the Bendigo Bank Pambula and Bega Cup.

With temperatures expected to hit 30 degrees, the surface should firm up and play outstanding throughout the meeting.

The rail is out 5m from the 800m to the 350m, and a cutaway is in use for the straight.

Look for horses either near the speed or just in behind to have the keys to the race.

It appears it will be hard to make ground from the back.

Race 4 – Bendigo Bank Pambula Cup (1408m)

The Map

Without any genuine speedsters in the race, the battle for early positions will be very tactical.

Look for Hamish The Swift (2), Galactic Rock (3) Bonhomie (4) and Zariz No Other (5) to make the most of their inside draws to be prominent in the run.

Those drawn wide such as Gametime (7), Vintage Borossa (9) and Port Douglas (11) will likely let the inside runners go and attempt to slot in behind the leading pack.

The only exceptions may be:

• Secadia (6) who might have a change of tactics under new trainer Chris Hensler to be more forward and;

• Irish Dancer (12) who may attempt to burn early from the wide draw, after a disappointing effort last time out.

It will pay to see if any bias is present early and correct your bets accordingly.

The Favourite

Galactic Rock arrives here off a solid performance over this same course and distance a month ago.

He appears a horse who performs well fresh and the 4-week break might be the difference in claiming win two here.

He draws well in gate 3 to land leaders back and is set to get every chance dropping in grade to this BM50.

A similar run will see him in the finish.

Best Bets

1st Irish Dancer was very disappointing at Moruya last start for the Barbara Joseph, Paul & Matt Jones stable after putting in some brilliant runs at this track.

She now returns to the track where her peak performances have come and gets Quayde Krogh back in the saddle who knows the horse well.

I am hoping they use the wide gate to their advantage to burn early and cross the field.

With little speed in this race, Quayde can control the tempo from the front and be very hard to beat.

2nd Galactic Rock put in his best effort for a while at this track and distance last start.

He gets an identical set up and he has the quality to win this.

The booking of Robyn Freeman is a plus and he won’t find a better field to knock another win on the board.

3rd Secadia has previously run a few cheeky races in Class 1 company, including a 2nd to the talented The Carpet Bagger.

The stable change can often work wonders and the little freshen-up may see him ready to peak.

4th Port Douglas gets the booking of brilliant jockey Nick Heywood.

He resumes here after no trials, so we are unsure how well he is going, but his best is better than these.

He is deserving of the top weight and if Matthew Kelly has him ready for a strong run fresh he will be flying home.

The distance is short of his best, but his class will go a long way in this.

There are loads of tips for today’s racing in our Horse Racing Tips market at theGreatTipOff.com

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