Big shout for Pindus and Star Jack
Best Bets come early on tonight and on Sunday
It's always good when the better bets feature early in the programme.
For one thing, it eliminates the disappointment which comes when you find out you have an empty wallet when the "good ones" are in the parade ring.
Luckily, the good scenario plays out this weekend with the "Best Bets" coming in Race 5 tonight and Race 3 on Sunday.
Pindus, topweight in today's fifth, carried the confidence of the grandstand in both his runs. Both times, he got beaten.
Second by a neck on debut and third at his latest - beaten by a head.
Punters lost a bundle - and next month's rent!
Then again, running second seems to be "in his blood". Back in Australia where he did his early racing, Pindus finished second in six of his 10 starts.
That's enough to test anyone's patience, punters especially. But they're a resilient lot. They know that his win will come.
Working into this contest, Pindus has done everything right. Indeed, with race jockey Vlad Duric in the saddle, he put in a winning gallop on Monday.
He may have drawn a tad wide today, but he's got the speed to overcome it.
That, and the fact that he won't be on the Poly, could pave the way for his first win.
On Sunday, Star Jack looks a standout in Race 3.
It's a race over the demanding 1,800m. But Star Jack has an advantage.
He's trained by the "master of the long run", Hideyuki Takaoka himself.
In his usual unassuming style, Takaoka has kept his charge on the boil and raring to go.
Star Jack, as we know, can stay all day - and longer. Twice, he scored over the 2,000m and the last time wasn't too long ago.
Indeed, it was on National Day that Star Jack romped home to win over 2,000m.
Six weeks later, he suffered interference and finished second in the El Dorado Classic, which was run over the same trip.
Both times, Marc Lerner was the man in the saddle. The Frenchman knows this horse inside out, having ridden him in eight of his last 10 outings.
Star Jack is a true staying package and, as come Sunday, Takaoka will have him presented as right as a racehorse can be.
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