Macca

State of Origin II on tonight ... I suppose NSW can wrap up the series but who knows? These encounters are hard to predict so I'll go for a Qld victory just to keep the series alive. An ideal lead into the World Cup straight after.

Here's a link that details all 73 Group 1 winners for the season ... A breakdown of Group 1 results in 2017-18 by distance/track conditions Some additional information with regards to the winners ... Horses Winx tops the pile of the 10 horses to win multiple Group 1s in Australia this season. 6 - Winx 3 - Trapeze Artist, Happy Clapper, Santa Ana Lane, Shoals 2 - Ace High, Tosen Stardom, Redkirk Warrior, Gailo Chop, Alizee Trainers Some 27 stables won Group 1s in Australia this season - 13 with multiples. 13 - Chris Waller 9 - Darren Weir 6 - Anthony Freedman 5 - David and Ben Hayes and Tom Dabernig, James Cummings 4 - Mick Price 3 - Patrick Webster, Gerald Ryan, Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott 2 - Aaron Purcell, David Payne, Peter and Paul Snowden, Ben Smith 1 - Peter Gelagotis, Kerry Parker, Graeme Begg, Liam Howley, Michael, Wayne and John Hawkes, Ron Quinton, Lloyd Kennewell, Alan Mathews, Rhys Radford, Joseph O'Brien, Tony McEvoy, Murray Baker and Andrew Forsman, Robert Hickmott, Gary Portelli Jockeys Some 30 jockeys won Group 1s in Australia this season - 15 of them winning multiple times at the top level. 9 - Hugh Bowman 5 - Damian Lane, Mark Zahra, Kerrin McEvoy, Blake Shinn 4 - Craig Williams 3 - Glyn Schofield, Michael Dee, Michael Walker, Tim Clark 2 - Dean Yendall, Ben Melham, Regan Bayliss, Damien Oliver 1 - Luke Nolen, Luke Currie, Josh Parr, Corey Brown, Stephen Baster, Craig Staples, Patrick Carbery, Joe Bowditch, Andrew Adkins, Brenton Avdulla, Zac Purton, Harry Coffey, Damian Browne, Cory Parish, Jordan Childs

Pity it wasn't 100% or more but I never aim that way DZ considering the way I bet ... 33% - 50% will do though and I look upon the exercise as a percentage play. Gone back to boxing the 5 too. A tried & true method. Last night the Aussie punters were ignoring City Light & Bound for Nowhere in the Diamond Jubilee - at least on the win tote odds ... that transcends into the trifectas. When that loophole appears there's a chance to cash in. The punters in England were ignoring the French dasher 'City Light' as well - again, that transcends into the punters here ignoring the horse. It nearly won the race. It happens a lot in Australian racing too - especially in the big Group 1 races - really good horses get ignored (Shoals, Santa Ana Lane etc) BM made an excellent point about the horse ratings with regards to yesterdays Tiara ... and the ratings came through with the first 4 across the line. Form is one aspect but class is another. Anyway, here's some further news on the grand victory by the Aussie raider ... Merchant Navy prevails in dramatic Diamond Jubilee Stakes

And Merchant Navy wins it for Australia!~ ... and I got the trifecta! Win/win. You little beauty! Redkirk was a little disappointing but we got the win. The favourite 'Harry Angel' played up in the stalls something chronic, missed the start but was a beaten horse before they jumped. But the story is about Merchant Navy the new wonder horse. Fought hard to the line with enormous spirit to overcome the French dasher 'City Light'. Aiden O'Brien (the horse-whisperer) does it again. Here's the replay of the Diamond Jubilee Stakes ...

10 minutes before they jump and the tote odds are interesting for Redkirk Warrior - $2.40 ($1.04 place) yet you can get $5.50 ($1.80 place) on fixed odds. I suppose many still just bet on the tote out of habit. Pools are very low too although that might change when we get closer to jump time.

I still reckon these wide-open Group 1's are the best trifecta races ... huge pools and very rarely do you see non-group type horses getting into the finish. There is a definite science to sorting out the better chances and I'm positive our luck will change down the track. We've gone close nearly every time bar once and that strike rate in terms of getting so close is way better than when I do them on my own ... so the 4 sets of eyes and expertise is valuable. We just need a bit of luck.

It was some sort of run by Nature Strip ... one for the black book Wadda. The horse has won at the Valley, Sandown & Flemington in 8 starts after winning on debut at Mornington so it's not just a horse that runs well down the straight. Could be anything. The sprint races in the Spring are going to be chock-full of talent ... there are still 7 or 8 slots open for the Everest with any number of worthy candidates available - including Nature Strip who is soon to be a 4 year old.

Trifecta Strike Rate 2 from 11 < $168.90 > Best Bet Strike Rate 67: 28 - 14 - 4 Australian Group and Listed Races Just a reminder that the Final day of the Royal Ascot Carnival is on later tonight with the headlining race being the Group 1 Diamond Jubilee Stakes featuring Redkirk Warrior & Merchant Navy. The meeting is on the free-to-air channel with the feature event to be run at 1.20am.

Yeah DZ we had 1st, 3rd, 4th & 5th (Daysee Doom came 5th) My horse Champagne Cuddles just didn't want to know about it today ... it was only her 4th run this preparation but it was one run too many by the looks of it. Close again but they're hard to get with these good betting races ... good dividends are on offer so if you do get the right combo, you win well. 3.5k for the First4 is a more than healthy outcome for those who had it. The trifecta dividend as well, all things considered. Your pick (Prompt Response) was ideally drawn and the jockey rode it a treat. It looked the winner rounding the turn. Top effort. Ah well, it's onto Royal Ascot for me now.

James Jordan's best bet ... Morphettville Race 5 No.10 White Kaps $4.00 (boosted)

The connections possibly believe they've got an above average horse and wanted to test it against good company early? It's going to win some races but maybe not against the likes of Nature Strip - the winner was ultra-impressive. The 2nd horse was a fair way behind but careering away from 3rd. That often makes the winner stand out even more.

Ran well but just missed Nature Strip ran 1:02.26 for the 1100m which is a quick enough time on a good track but this track is graded as a Soft5. In the Weir stable now - Nature Strip is back.

That is good odds Wadda ... gotta be worth $5 each-way. I'm on!

Here are the replays of the 2 Group 1's from Royal Ascot raced overnight ... the Commonwealth Cup & the Coronation Stakes It all wraps up later tonight with the Diamond Jubilee Stakes featuring Redkirk Warrior & Merchant Navy. The race is on the free-to-air channel at 1.20am.

Alright, here are our 5 choices for the Tiara (3, 4, 5, 10, 15) ... good luck all and lets see if we can snag a decent collect before the break. Of course the racing goes on and we can still nominate our best bets to keep the thread moving along. My main interest for the next 2 months will be with the flat racing from the UK and following the fortunes of Redkirk Warrior & Merchant Navy. Oh, and Pounamu in the Strickland Stakes next Saturday! No.4 Prompt Response $6.00 No.5 Super Cash $12.00 No.15 Champagne Cuddles $5.50 No.3 Daysee Doom $14.00 No.10 Savanna Amour $9.50

Brazil really turned it on in the finish ... mesmerizingly good in the last 10-15 minutes. Their tournament just kicked into gear and they'll be hard to stop now.

Good choice Wadda Over to BM to finish things off ... Prompt Response .......... No.4 $6.50 Super Cash ................... No.5 $10.00 Champagne Cuddles ..... No.15 $5.50 @binman @binman

Demons go down against Port ... no legs in the greater part of the 2nd half and we were under pressure for a lot of our possessions. Hard to win when that happens. Not disgraced though but we do need to regroup. Trifecta Strike Rate 2 from 10 < $138.90 > Best Bet Strike Rate 64: 28 - 13 - 4 Australian Group and Listed Races n.b. I've based our trifecta money result on boxing the 5 picks but with an outlay of only half a unit ($30.00) Each time we win, I will halve the dividend to correspond with the outlay. Also thought up some names for our trifecta picks just for some added interest. Let me know what you reckon of the descriptions or if you've got your own thoughts on what we might call each choice. In order as for this week ... The Lead ............ Prompt Response No.4 (Dee Zephyr) The Value .......... @Wadda We Sing The Steadier ...... Champagne Cuddles No.15 (Macca) The Cruncher ..... @binman The Clincher ....... @binman

Couple of Group 1's at Royal Ascot tonight Race 3 features the 3yo's over the 1200m - Commonwealth Cup whilst Race 4 involves the 3yo fillies over the mile - Coronation Stakes And here's a replay of the Group 1 Gold Cup (4000m) from last night ...

Stole my thunder DZ but it's a wide-open betting race ... I'll jump in early just because if I choose a horse that Wadda was going to pick he gets another choice. And so on and so forth - I guess that's how it kinda works hey? The last 2 picks are the all-important ones in a way as the early picks are the more obvious standouts that tend to pick themselves. Wadda will occupy those 2 spots when we resume proceedings in the early Spring. Anyway, I figured someone was going to choose Champagne Cuddles so it may as well be me ... drawn an inside barrier just like Prompt Response plus both horses are in very good form. As well as that, I've snagged the last 2 winners in our trifecta combo's so I'm in for the 3peat! So here's how we sit ... Prompt Response (No.4) @Wadda We Sing Champagne Cuddles (No.15) @binman @binman

We were the better team but just couldn't finish things off ... but that's the game. Arzani looks a real player and he made a difference when he came on. Anyway, the good news is that we are not out of it. It would be better if Peru were to defeat France later on but I don't like their chances. What we do know is that we will have to win our last game and probably need to win by more than 1 goal. It's do-able especially if we play as well as we played tonight. If Peru lose tonight then they will be out of it and would have nothing to play for in their 3rd game against us - except pride.

You make your own luck EH. That type of penalty is rarely paid - we got very lucky. I do have a problem with the inconsistent VAR rulings though ... as we know, they've got oodles of time to get the right outcomes but what we get is inconsistent outcomes.

Thank goodness for VAR hey! ha ha

My best bet is another horse that Dan Zephyr ran against along with Lite 'n' In My Veins in the same race! The form line from that race back in December has been quite impressive. Flemington Race 7 No.1 Ozi Choice $2.70 (boosted) Ran a very quick time (1:20.96) over the 1400m at its last start win and is ideally suited here at Flemington again. 3 of the 'Get On' crew have it as their best bet and 'Gator' declared it as the best bet Australia-wide for Saturday!

While I think of of it, here are the 4 Group 1's from Royal Ascot decided so far ... tonight see's the Group 1 Gold Cup run over 4000m - the 3 popular fancies are all a chance to visit our shores for the 2 big cups (or at least the Melbourne Cup) What I like about the uploads from 'Racing UK' is that you won't necessarily know who the winners are - they simply just upload the races.