Dee Zephyr

We almost had the tri, at least I thought I did until Shillelagh came from the clouds. Very close today fellas.

Not that it would have made a difference but I did speak to mate prior to the race and connections were a bit perplexed why they went with Park as the jockey. They wanted the same apprentice as his first-up run so they could claim down to 51kg.

Terrific win by Nature Strip. Smashed them really. El wasn’t disgraced in that grade, looked like the horse ran 1400m rather than 1100m by the time it took to get to the outside rail. Hopefully he’ll be better for the run.

Shame about last night fellas, we carry on though with the “Best Bets”. Randwick R9 No.1 Bandipur. $2.50. Always a risk backing a horse first-up in the heavy but the horse competed well in stakes level last prep. Trialled well recently, goes well on a heavy track and the wide barrier might be an advantage late in the day.

Hi all. Trifecta selection. Thought I’d get in early while the mood is good. Tonight will be busy on here. Number 4 Prompt Response $7.00 & $2.70 Last year’s runner-up striving to go one better. Can’t fault her consistency this preparation and is racing extremely well. Adrian Bott stated she’s open to further improvement after the Dane Ripper Stakes and she’s in great shape. Drawn well to gain a spot in the first few and should be in the finish. Tough field is an understatement.

G’day Macca. I prefer the Tiara for this week. El Magnificence to go up against Nature Strip in the 3rd at Flemington on Saturday.

On the money DJ. What a game that should be, both fancies to top the group losing last night. Enjoy it!

Like the theory Macca. I’m still dumbfounded at the French handball. Not even a yellow card. He should have been off IMO. The VAR seemed to work fine a few months back in the A-League. The only controversy with it was the constant decisions going against the Victory. Very enjoyable first half by the way. I think the Japanese keeper is still waving his finger in the dressing rooms. Ball was over by 2 feet.

Unbelievable Macca. Kettle hadn’t even boiled yet and whaaaaatttt...penalty and a red card?? Did I hear the commentator say it’s the 9th penalty of the tournament?

8 games on a Friday night since 1991?

“Fiesta” time in Russia. The Mexicans have a knack of performing during the group stages and we have our first real shock of the tournament. We shouldn’t be surprised though as the Mexicans have some world class players and questions are now being asked of the Germans. Brazil, Argentina, Spain have all dropped points and France can count themselves lucky but they have the 3 points when other top seeds failed. You’d expect them all to bounce back though. Plenty of drama in these early stages which sets up an intriguing finish to the first round.

Macca, Macca, Macca. I’m a Bears fan mate. ? Haven’t followed the NFL as closely the last few years but enjoyed the rivalry over the years. Anyway, back on topic. Do you sometimes find some of our horses are under the odds over here when they race overseas?

Enjoyable game to watch. Argentina with almost 3/4 of the possession, around 5 times the amount of passes, more than double in shots, Messi alone had 10 goal attempts. Iceland looked very dangerous every time they attacked in the first half with their fast and precise passing. Agree with @Grapeviney, not a well hit penalty by Messi. This was the first game of the tournament so far that didn’t have a goal scored in the final 10 minutes. Early days but good for trivia night. Loving the reports @Diamond_Jim. Aussies unlucky in the end. The boos for Hernandez were coming through loud and clear. Sainsbury post match stated he wasn’t a fan of the VAR before and his mind hasn’t changed after today.

I was under the same impression Macca. VAR was comprehensive during the A-League season not only reviewing the play in question but also ruling on other infringements cited during the review such as players being sanctioned for pushing/holding behind the play. It seemed to me they went to VAR to confirm the handball but strangely forgot about the sanction.

Bizarre really. He didn’t even receive a yellow. I’ve seen red cards for less.

I really have to stop mentioning other horses when I nominate my “Best”. ? Apologies fellas, I missed the boat with “Lite’n In My Veins”.

Well done Macca. Love seeing the explosive turn of foot upon straightening by a front runner. That was very impressive on the 7 day backup. Could be a good guide for El Magnificence too. Only 1 length behind Miss Leonidas last week.

I’m so glad I set the alarm Macca. I even woke up my 10yr old son to watch it with me and he was thankful. Absolute treat to witness it.

Feeling a lucky day fellas. Sky racing is on in the background and noticed a horse won in the American trots by the name of Zephyr Kronos.

Best Bet: Moonee Valley. Race 8 Number 1 Lite’n In My Veins $3.70 Racing in similar grade and I just had to choose this horse as a best after we mentioned it a few months ago. It will take the claim of 3kg and is probably worse off at the weights against “My Nordic Hero” but was the strongest at the finish last start. I actually struggled the find one that stands out tomorrow. Tough day coming up so I went with a horse that’s in red hot form.

Cool...Best Bets continue. The World Cup will give us plenty of practise with staying up late for the UK races.

Going early fellas. Number 2 Religify. TAB Odds: $7.50/$2.50 A work colleague knows the horse well through connections and was told the horse trialled really well last week. Tough on pacer and the tight Ipswich circuit will suit the horse. If the horse can cross without doing too much from the wide barrier it could be very hard for them to catch him. If he does do some work early the horse is still capable of hanging onto a placing. Also happy to have 2 more runs with the trifectas and then hitting the paddock for a while. Do we still continue with the “Best Bets” Macca?

I’m leaning towards the Eye Liner Stakes Macca. Might seem a trickier race than the other 2 but there are some horses that I think are terrific value.

Cheers. Enjoy it DJ. Hopefully the tournament produces some great contests. Did you try the souvlaki from Plaka during your time over there?