Sportsbet Blog

The Melbourne Spring Carnival really heats up this weekend with the Group 1 Age Caulfield Guineas at (where else but?) Caulfield. The prize money totals $1,000,000 which makes the Caulfield Guineas one of the premier 3 year old races in Australia. The history of the race is filled with top class winners who went onto better things, such as Lonhro, Weekend Hussler and last year’s winner, Whobegotyou.

The field this year is sure to contain some stars in the making, indeed, some such as Denman, can almost claim “star” status already. Denman is currently favourite with Betfair at $2.80. It might be a little unbelievable, but he is probably a good bet at those odds. He has won his past six races, including the Group 1 Golden Rose. If the bad weather continues he will also have the advantage of winning on a heavy track before. The only doubt that should be considered is that this will be his first race at Caulfield.

Denman will be facing some tough competition though; none tougher than the Gai Waterhouse trained Manhattan Rain ($5.00). The colt may not have won as many races as Denman, but his record has been fantastic. He won the Group 1 Sires Produce Stakes and finished third in the AAMI Golden Slipper earlier this year. His form of late has not been disappointing, finishing third in the prelude to this race last month.

Trusting finished second in the same prelude, and is currently second favourite with Betfair at $4.85. He only started racing in July this year, but he already has a group win under his belt in the Group 2 Warwick Stakes. He has some very tough competition in this race however, but he is not at all without a chance.

If you’re searching for some value, look no further than Carrara. Surprisingly the Tony Vasil colt is at $21.00, despite having excellent form in listed races around Melbourne.

This race is always packed with class, and this year is no exception. I think it will be a very close race, but it would be almost criminal to go against Denman’s form. I am a big fan of Manhattan Rain, so he’s in my top three. I’m also willing to invest a little faith in So You Think ($9.00), who is inexperienced, but promising. And as I mentioned before, for value, go with Carrara.

My Tips:

Denman

Manhattan Rain

So You Think

Carrara