Macca

I reckon the person who picks 4th should get the 5th pick ... we need all contributing D77. Your expertise is needed. Think of it this way, the first 3 come up with 3 possible winners and then the onus goes onto the 4th contributor. A bit like the 'Skip' in foursomes. Except that person then has the 5th pick as well. And then the 6th pick is up for grabs - maybe a consensus vote?

In Group 1 races a horse like Trapeze Artist just has to be included but come race time we might be barracking against it such is the nature of the punt. It's all about the money but if Trapeze salutes we'd be hoping for some value for the 2nd & 3rd placegetters. I've seen many trifectas pay very well with the clear favourite winning. As for Tom, he'll almost certainly be running on especially if the jockey can find a good run for the horse. It gets into the finish a lot of times (against good company too)

As previously stated, I'm happy to go 4th first up and then I have to identify a possible placegetter (which is arguably more difficult anyway) And keep watching as I might get in quick with the 5th pick as the sequence would be starting over again. As you said, lets just have a go and see how it pans out.

That is another way to do it Wadda but I do like the idea of sticking one's neck out ... makes it a bit more fun and when it's your turn, you're batting for the team. You've played competitive bowls, so it's a bit like how foursomes is played.

Well, as we post up our picks, that horse is locked in and it's on to the next pick with a different horse. We'll just have to scroll back if there is some lag time. As an example ... D77 gets in first on say Thursday night with Trapeze Artist - that horse is then locked in as one of our 3 winners. Then binman gets in an hour later with Tom Melbourne (god forbid) ... good old Tom is then locked in as our 2nd win pick And so on and so forth until we get all 6 horses nominated. By the way, the full dividend for a 3 - 6 - 6 combo costs $60 but you can lay any amount for any percentage you like. Again, the choice rests with each individual. For fields of 14 - 16 or more I often will go 3 - 6 - 6 but for lesser field numbers I would go 3 - 5 - 5 all the way down to 2 - 4 - 4. And if it's not a good betting race it's often best to pass. That's why it's best to discuss the race type and strategy beforehand. Identify a race and then go for it.

If you're 4th then you miss out on having a win pick ... but that wouldn't bother me as I reckon you 3 blokes know what you're doing. Maybe we could have an honour system where whoever misses out on a win pick gets first go the next time we do it. The 4th pick could also have the 5th pick if they're quick enough. Or maybe whoever has the 4th gets the 5th pick as well? (2nd & 3rd only) And then the 6th pick is up for grabs. To save time, I'm quite happy to volunteer to go 4th pick first up.

Good points @binman ... the best bets stay. I suppose I'm always conscious of not burdening anyone with something that might turn into a chore but lets keep it going. I still reckon we'll get 'em 'all up' soon enough! That'd be nice! I normally will have a bet most weeks largely because I follow the Group racing both here and overseas. It's not for everyone though and most people need a decent spell or 2. I've had a look ahead and there are a total of 11 Group 1's & 12 Group 2 races run in the 2 months after the Sydney Auttumn Carnival finishes. Mostly at Doomben & Morphettville. That's quite a lot really and more than most would imagine. After that it goes quiet until mid August but there's a stack of European & USA Group 1's in the gap. For those with cable we now get to see a lot of these races live but I believe the Racing channel & Racing.com now cover a lot of the big races from overseas (including the week long Royal Ascot event) I figured we go one horse at a time - first in best dressed but in an order where once you've had a go, you have to wait for the others to all have their pick. If we worked on a 3 - 6 - 6 combo we'd obviously stop once we got to the 6th horse. The first 3 horses picked would be for the win and next 3 would be for the place. The All Aged Stakes would be my choice to kick things off. It's a good betting race outside of the favourite Trapeze Artist. If Trapeze doesn't win or even run a place, the dividend could be quite healthy (depending on the final result) Here's the all-up betting (the highlighted link above takes you to the Racenet.com form ...

Yeah lets do both Wadda .... as always we're each free to do with the picks as we wish So how do you feel about 'The All Aged Stakes' as a starter? 3 - 5 - 5 or 3- 6 - 6 or another configuration? One more point on 'Alizee' .. it is not a stop-start horse?

Here is a dramatised real-life tale of survival worth a listen. Given up for dead the survivors of a shipwreck remained on a freezing barren island half way between Cape Town & Antarctica for 7 lonely months. Tell me a Shipwreck (55 minutes)

I wonder if Pounamu will be racing anytime soon? Last winter it ran in four Group 3 races in WA from May through to July. All 4 races were worth 150k but the connections might chase a few of the big feature races at Doomben instead.

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Yep ... same thoughts D77. The other Group1 race is a 2yo race and they are notoriously difficult to sort out at the best of times. Trapeze Artist is very short in the All Aged Stakes but as you mentioned, it's a top-notch field with Brave Smash out there to make amends and 'It's Somewhat' is an early acceptor. Good old Tom Melbourne will probably be running along with a number of other chances. Good betting races often return good exotic dividends so it looks the one. As always, all feedback is welcomed.

@binman made mention that he might be having a spell for a while but if not, his and @Wadda We Sing thoughts on this new idea would be invaluable. We could just take it turns with picks after we agree on a race and system and away we go. I reckon we could end up mapping out a race with our combined knowledge.

Yep, much simpler and a lot easier too. My favoured Trifecta multiple is 3 - 5 - 5 or 3 - 6 - 6 depending on the amount of runners in the field. If I stick to the big feature races I usually get the winner with 3 choices but the placegetters can be tricky. But it's not meant to be easy otherwise we'd be swimming in it. As an example, in the four Group 1 races on Saturday I reckon we would have come up with Unforgotten and probably Who Shot TheBarmen. Alizee maybe? ... and we'd have probably passed on the Winx race. The Alizee race was really tough and the 2 mile race is often a bit of a lottery. So we might have had a go at the Oaks where the Trifecta paid nearly 1k with the 2 most fancied runners finishing 1st & 2nd. But would we have had Miss Admiration for 3rd? May-be if we'd used the VRC Oaks Result as a guide.

Yep, and the Hiyaam race and the Who Shot TheBarman race! I should have stuck to my 3 - 5 - 5 Trifecta system. Win bets and multi's are not for me but at least I'm sure of that now! You live and learn D77. Speaking of which, why don't we change things up a bit and try and put together a Trifecta or a First4 in an upcoming feature race? We could put the best bet idea on hold for a while and see if we have some luck in another area. Just a thought.

Here are the replays of the 3 other Group 1 races from Saturday (Australian Oaks, Sydney Cup & The Coolmore Legacy) ... there are 2 more Group 1 races coming up this Saturday at Randwick to finish the Autumn Carnival (before we venture off to Morphettville & Doomben for their big feature races!) ...

Apart from more recent times where Black Caviar and now Winx have absolutely dominated, we've often had 1, 2 or even 3 standout performers at any given time. If you pick any decade for instance you'd come up with any number of horses that would stand out from the rest. At various times we've had Vain, Kingston Town, Makybe Diva, Better Loosen Up, Manikato, Northerly and the list goes on and on. I like it that the World Authority recognises our racing and our horses too ... it's a little surprising considering that we rarely go chasing glory overseas but I suppose that just confirms the strength of our racing here. And more & more overseas horses are being brought here as well ... not the absolute best (yet) but after analysing where and when the Group 1 racing occurs, our best chance of attracting the best is in February/March. If the Tancred, Queen Elizabeth Stakes and the Cox Plate were all held over that period with an increase in prizemoney (from already healthy numbers) then it's feasible. For instance, the Dubai World Cup has identified late March as a window and that meeting does attract a lot of overseas representation. But I tend to think that things will largely remain the same ... however, the 'Everest' race does change the landscape. Interesting that the Pegasus World Cup held in January in the USA works off the same principle of selling 'slots' like the 'Everest'. Maybe that is the future? And that's a great video of Sea Biscuit - thanks for posting D77.

With Winx now occupying the top spot with regards to the best Racehorse Worldwide, it's worth noting the 3 main rivals that she has surpassed. 2 of her rivals ran in the 'Pegasus World Cup International Stakes' (1800m) held in January at Gulfstream Park (Florida) ... the race was worth $12Million ($16Million next year) and is regarded as the richest horse race held annually. Her other main rival ran in the recent G1 Dubai 'Turf' over 1800m. n.b. 'The Everest' is vying for the honour of the richest horserace and that race is going to be worth $13Million this year. It is the richest 'Turf' race worldwide. While I'm here, here's a link to the top 100 Group 1 races held worldwide (we fare very well on the list) Anyway, here's a look at Gun Runner, West Coast, Benbatl & Winx (today) And our own Winx today ...

Our 'Best Bet' strategy has taken a bit of a hammering of late ... we've dropped below a 50% win strike rate. Have we switched off for a quarter? ha ha 40: 19 - 8 - 1 If it's any consolation most I know have dipped out badly in last 3 or 4 weeks. A lot of the favoured horses have run a place instead of winning. JJ has gone a bit cold too.

Always nice to pick up a late winner D77 ... well done!

Didn't have the winner but I think I might have had the next 4 runners. Nothing ventured, nothing gained D77.

I wish I knew ... I'd be very rich if so Wadda 1600m seems to be her limit but with maturity the horse might get the 2000m. The jockey mentioned that Alizee needs a few runs to get going.

Alizee does it easily ... the 3yo filly beats all the mares. Might have a big big future with that turn of speed. As it stands the horse is tremendous at Group level.

Who Shot TheBarman wins the Sydney Cup! It ran a terrific race at its last start in the Tancred Stakes so the form was there. Almandin never threatened.

Such is the racing calendar (Worldwide) they're never likely to meet. Comparing times & track surfaces Winx would come out on top - would beat the other gun horse 'West Coast' as well. Anyway Wadda, as it stands right now, Winx will go to the No.1 position outright. An absolute Champion in every sense of the word.