Macca

Nice one DZ ... I was on it for a handy collect. Jaameh fought on really well for a gutsy win - David Hayes just mentioned that the horse has probably now qualified for next year's Melbourne Cup. Looks a real stayer.

It can win! Much like a number of others can win in this sprint race as well Wadda I found this Sprint race the hardest to decipher in quite some time ... and there is a possible small fortune to be made with the correct Trifecta or First4 combination saluting. I'm surprised the race hasn't been talked up a lot more in terms of the quality but I suspect that is because the punters & experts can't make heads or tails of the race. There are a any number of top-line gun horses that will finish outside of the top 4. By contrast, the McKinnon has attracted a weakish field with only 4 realistic chances including your choice, Extra Brut.

4 best bets in so far ... paying 20-1 (non boosted) French Ligue 1 Sunday at 03:00 Guingamp v Lyon Lyon Win/Over 1.5 goals $1.95 EPL Sunday at 04:30 Crystal Palace v Tottenham Tottenham Win/Over 1.5 goals $2.15 Italian Serie A Sunday 1.00am Torino (win) & +2.5 Goals Match Score $2.30 vs Parma Italian Serie A Sunday 6.30am Genoa vs Napoli (win) & +2.5 Goals Match Score $2.10

Best Bets Italian Serie A Sunday 1.00am Torino (win) & +2.5 Goals Match Score $2.30 vs Parma Italian Serie A Sunday 6.30am Genoa vs Napoli (win) & +2.5 Goals Match Score $2.10

Best Bet Flemington Race 2 No.5 Lucky For All $2.80 (Win)

Today's VRC Oaks & Tuesday's Melbourne Cup

Sat 10th Flemington Stakes Day - Full Card A major highlight being the Sprint Classic over 1200m with a star-studded field engaged. Everest-like when considering the quality ... a tall-order with regards to boxing 5 in a trifecta too. Which horses does one leave out?

Nice odds for El Mag there DZ ... $31 (boosted) The 5.80 the place is good value too. Damian Lane engaged as well. A 30/70 split beckons And they might be coming down the grandstand side by race 9 of the 4 day carnival which will suit where the horse has drawn

Amphitrite didn't stay but Weir wasn't over-confident either ... got onto Bleu Roche in the lucky last though to end up in front. Your quaddie with Aristia saluting instead of Amphitrite paid $45k so you were on the right path DZ. Ugh! I went away from Aristia as well despite it winning the Wakeful in impressive fashion ... you live and learn. Ellerton has got a decent horse on his hands.

If you liked Black Mirror you'll almost certainly like Electric Dreams Both are anthology series and I liked both equally despite Black Mirror having a very high rating as compared to Electrics Dreams very good rating. In fact, I have found the Electric Dream anthology series to be a bit more thought provoking. A terrific cast are involved too including Steve Buscemi, Geraldine Chaplin, Brian Cranston, Karin Anglin, Greg Kinnear & Timothy Spall.

1 point up for grabs this week and for the first time this year there are 4 probable road winners ... but buyer beware, there might be a trap game or 2 amongst the 4. Good luck! Leaderboard in the comp 6 - JV7, Dr. Gonzo 5 - layzie 4 - Go the Biff, Clintosaurus, Dappa Dan, Dee Zephyr, DeeSpencer 3 - titan_uranus, Gorgoroth, Macca, 2 - DemonDave

Racenet Form VRC Oaks 2500m $1Million Group 1

'Another Coldie' wins the cup! DK Weir again ... keep these Country Cups coming I say! One of his runners (Pleasuring) was scratched from the Kyneton Cup today but I see it is entered for Race 2 at Flemington on Saturday

And of course there's always the Kyneton Cup tomorrow as a prelude to the Oaks on Thursday ... DK Weir has 4 horses running around in the event including the top 3 in the betting line. Kyneton Cup 2000m $125k Wed 4.40pm

So many horses just lose their zest & ability from one season to the next or from the Autumn to the Spring ... it often happens to mares but once the males get to about 8 that often spells the end. And not too many horses break the $1Million mark so the horse has done very well for the connections. I've won a bit on the horse in the exotics so I don't feel let down by the horse in any way If they do retire the horse there's loads of other functions for the horse in retirement. Maybe we'll see the horse in the Autumn for one last go at it.

It's time for a name change DZ ... and with your high-level contacts you're tasked with getting the connections to stop embarrassing the Melbourne name with the horse having so many lacklustre performances of late! ?

How 'bout those Cowboys! Not. Pressure has to come onto their coach & QB now ... the NFC East is up for grabs but Dallas are going backwards at a rate of knots.

Beware the injured athlete hey ... Cross Counter too good! 2 in a row from the 3YO's from the Northern Hemisphere. What do they say ... Once might be a fluke, twice is a trend and 3 times is a habit. It was a great win by the horse ... came from about near last on the final turn. McEvoy timed his run perfectly.

They ran 01:23.61 for the 1400m in race 7 and that time is rather quick for a Soft7 ... more like a Soft6 time or even a Soft5 time. The track ratings at Flemington, Caulfield & Moonee Valley are different to most other courses because of the drainage. Edit: Now upgraded to a Soft6 but the middle of the track looks to have the better ground so the swoopers have every chance.

Track upgraded to a Soft7 so the better favoured horses in the cup are at least running on better ground. Most of the European horses will be familiar with these sort of conditions anyway. The scratchings at the meeting dropped off 2 hours ago so that tells us something as well.

As you've stated here, the Rams defense has been shown up so you need to take care of your own destiny ... vs KC, @ Chicago & vs Philadelphia won't be easy and even 1 loss against any of those teams serves as a double-loss when in pursuit of the 1 seed up against the Saints. And the 1 seed is super-important with a SB spot on the line. As an example, the Eagles having the 1 seed last season helped them and Foles to a very large degree as it did the Pats up against the Steelers. You're in new ground Gorg after being out of it for so many years

Superior teams keep winning or find a way to win ... the Saints have hit a rich vein of form and with Brees at the helm, they'll be hard to beat for any opposition.

The track has been downgraded to a Soft5 heading almost certainly to a Soft6 and maybe even a Soft7 or Heavy8. The rain is still falling. They ran slowish 59.61 for the 1000m in the first race and the winning jockey Mark Zahra was saying there was a lot of surface water and that the track was already racing a bit like a Heavy8.

Nah I thought it was a 15 yard penalty Gorg despite the barracking by the commentators. No excuses, none. You never give the ref a chance to give a penalty by running into the kicker. We did well to stay with the Pats for as long as we did but we had our chances ... the fumble meant the game was over. The Pats coverage on our wide receivers was as good as I have seen. They are as good as ever. As for your Rams, the Saints now have the tiebreak advantage when we get to the playoffs ... you'll possibly need to 'win-out' to avoid another trip to New Orleans. 14-2 probably wins the conference but it is early doors.

Racenet Form - Melbourne Cup 3200m $7.6Million Group 1 1. Best Solution (6) (IRE) J: Pat Cosgrave T: Saeed bin Suroor W: 57.5kg Best Odds: $14 COMMENT: Caulfield Cup winner who produced a career best to win the race. The Caulfield Cup is the traditional lead up, but in recent years it hasn't been the right form reference. 57.5kg is the ask, but he relaxes, he can sustain a run and is in form so there is enough boxes ticked to respect him. 2. The Cliffsofmoher (9) (IRE) J: TBC T: Aidan O'Brien W: 56.5kg Best Odds: $16 COMMENT: I thought Bowman gave him every chance in the Caulfield Cup but wanted to lay in badly when put under pressure. I can't see him turning the tables on Best Solution and is a clear query at 3200m. 3. Magic Circle (17) (IRE) J: Corey Brown T: Ian Williams W: 56kg Best Odds: $9.50 COMMENT: This horse has clearly turned the corner since joining Ian Williams, winning 2/2 by six lengths each time where he has produced a slashing turn of foot which is needed to win the Melbourne Cup. Has looked sharp in work at Werribee. Stays and has a turn of foot. That's a winning formula for the Melbourne Cup. Looks the horse to beat. 4. Chestnut Coat (4) (JPN) J: TBC T: Yoshito Yahagi W: 55.5kg Best Odds: $41 COMMENT: Clear forgive run in the Caulfield Cup. Wide no cover for the trip and was a beaten horse on the turn. Didn't handle the wet track either. The step up in trip and on a bigger track, he can bounce back for sure as long as the rain stays away. 5. Muntahaa (13) (IRE) J: Jim Crowley T: John Gosden W: 55.5kg Best Odds: $10 COMMENT: He's the horse on everyone's lips. Visually, the Ebor win was outstanding. But what did he beat? There has been 21 subsequent runs from the race for just one win since. That's the negative, plus the form prior was just fair, and that he's a highly strung animal, but if he puts everything together and gets things to suit, he can certainly win. 6. Sound Check (16) (GER) J: Jordan Childs T: Michael Moroney W: 55.5kg Best Odds: $41 COMMENT: He was another forgive in the Caulfield Cup. He was out the back and pulling his head off. Looked drunk around the turn but balanced up and his last 100m was encouraging. Big track, 3200m and a more genuine tempo could see him cause problems. 7. Who Shot Thebarman (18) (NZ) J: TBC T: Chris Waller W: 55.5kg Best Odds: $67 COMMENT: A grand old campaigner who will likely sit on speed and make his own luck. Would be a shock to see him win, but his Moonee Valley Cup run was encouraging and I think he's a top 10 contender at big odds. 8. Ace High (22) J: TBC T: David Payne W: 55kg Best Odds: $81 COMMENT: Put a line through his run in the Caulfield Cup. Leading isn't his go, he wasn't happy on the surface and regular rider Tye Angland wasn't on. He will be much better at Flemington where he won the Derby last year. Two miles will be no issue if ridden with cover and will appreciate any rain that hits the track in lead up to the race. Can bounce back. 9. Marmelo (10) (GB) J: Hugh Bowman T: Hughie Morrison W: 55kg Best Odds: $17 COMMENT: Horses who fail in a previous attempt at a Cup, generally struggle to improve at subsequent attempts. But this horse has got the ability to win so i am happy to give him another shot. If the race was a few hundred metres shorter he would be the horse to beat so if its a slow tempo he will be very hard to hold out. One of the main contenders. 10. Avilius (11) (GB) J: Glyn Schofield T: James Cummings W: 54.5kg Best Odds: $13 COMMENT: Earned his spot in the field via a narrow win in the Bart Cummings. Well held in the Cox Plate and IMO looks a clear risk at 3200m. He has been a up a fair while as well so it would take a great training effort from James Cummings. If he runs the distance he is right in the race but a risk at the price. 11. Yucatan (23) (IRE) J: James McDonald T: Aidan O’Brien W: 54.5kg Best Odds: $5.00 COMMENT: If he runs up to the Herbert Power effort, he will go very close. But the price is very short and you're being asked to take $4.50 to see if he can run 3200m. There is enough evidence to suggest he may not and at the price, you couldn't back him. But anything similar to that win and he'll look the winner. Just needs to run the trip. 12. Auvray (1) (FR) J: TBC T: Richard Freedman W: 54kg Best Odds: $126 COMMENT: Hasn't raced in just under a month and was plain in what looked a weak race. Happy to let him go through to the keeper. 13. Finche (15) (GB) J: Zac Purton T: Chris Waller W: 54kg Best Odds: $26 COMMENT: I think he is 6-12 months away from showing his best. Geelong Cup run was good but I don't think that's the right form for the Melbourne Cup. Not this year anyway. 14. Red Cardinal (5) (IRE) J: Damien Oliver T: Darren Weir W: 54kg Best Odds: $101 COMMENT: Visually, the Moonee Valley Cup run was just plain, but it was a rock hard track and he hates that. Wants a track with give in it and the forecast is for a shower or two. If the rain comes his chances get a massive boost. 15. Vengeur Masque (2) (IRE) J: TBC T: Michael Moroney W: 54kg Best Odds: $71 COMMENT: Handy stayer for Michael Moroney but I thought he was just fair in the Caulfield Cup. Would need to produce a career best run do go close and I don't think he has that in him. 16. Ventura Storm (7) J: TBC T: D & B Hayes and T Dabernig W: 54kg Best Odds: $31 COMMENT: Got his way into form with a Moonee Valley Cup win, but I'm putting that down largely to an absolute peach of a steer from Mark Zahra. He does normally save his best for Flemington though. Can he win? I doubt it, but he should be included in multiples. 17. A Prince Of Arran (20) (GB) J: Michael Walker T: Charlie Fellowes W: 53kg Best Odds: $17 COMMENT: It is always tough to win the Lexus Stakes on a Saturday then back-up to win the Melbourne Cup on the Tuesday but the horses who try always run well. Of the Lexus winners in recent years A Prince Of Arran looks like one who can win the Cup with plenty of improvement in him as well as being a rock hard stayer. Big player 18. NAKEETA (3) (GB) J: TBC T: Iain Jardine W: 53kg Best Odds: $126 COMMENT: Just snuck into the Field late on Saturday when Red Verdon was ruled out of the race. She was the last one into the race and will likely be the last one home in the race. Pass 19. Sir Charles Road (14) J: TBC T: O’Sullivan and Scott W: 53kg Best Odds: $126 COMMENT: Was game in the Bendigo Cup on Wednesday but that race was won by a near rank outsider. Here to make up the numbers. 20. Zacada (24) J: TBC T: TBC W: 53kg Best Odds: $201 COMMENT: Had no chance the way the track played in the Geelong Cup but his form prior isn't good enough to win a Melbourne Cup. 21. Runaway (12) J: TBC T: G Waterhouse and A Bott W: 52kg Best Odds: $41 COMMENT: Aided by bias to win the Geelong Cup, but he led all the way and will be out of trouble on speed. Leading all the way in a Melbourne Cup is saved for champions. 22. Youngstar (8) J: Craig Williams T: Chris Waller W: 51.5kg Best Odds: $17 COMMENT: Thought she was the best run in the Caulfield Cup. Loved the way she attacked the line off a moderate. Start prior ran similar splits to Winx in the Turnbull. Very confident she'll run the two miles and is clearly in the mix. 23. Cross Counter (19) (GB) J: Kerrin McEvoy T: Charlie Appleby W: 51kg Best Odds: $10 COMMENT: Very progressive gelding for Charlie Appleby. Thought he was very good during the York Carnival when beaten a lip. Has had a setback or two at Werribee but appears over them. Have to respect the stable and their record down under. 24. Rostropovich (21) (IRE) J: TBC T: Aidan O’Brien W: 51kg Best Odds: $26 COMMENT: He was just okay in the Cox Plate. Sat on speed and fought on well. But his form at 2400m is suspect, so has to be a query at 3200m despite being trained by Aidan O'Brien.