Top 5 Early Insights @ Royal Randwick

Published: 06 Aug 2015

All eyes on the yard - There are question marks on the fitness of the Missile Stakes contenders

Spring is in the air in Sydney as Group Two racing hits Royal Randwick this weekend. A dry surface is forecast for the 'Carnival types' to strut their stuff after a long Winter of off-season racing on wet tracks.

Finding horses suited to the conditions is important as always, the more powerful gallopers that have been struggling in the mud will come to the fore.

Each horse is profiled in The Race Guides, which are on-line Friday morning. Until then, The Analyst Team's Top 5 Early Insights are listed below.

1 - Ready Yet?

The feature Group 2 Missile Stakes is as much about which galloper is fittest as it is about form. 

WEARY (one trial), MESSENE (two trials), TEMPLE OF BOOM (two trials), AOMEN (one trial) and BURBERO (second-up and looked very 'woolly' first-up) are the class horses.

A close look at the Mounting Yard and the Market will be a strong indicator of which one comes out on top.

How will he present? - Weary is a big watch in the mounting yard this weekend

2 - Favoured Four-year-olds

This is a good time of year to follow the new season four-year-olds as they step out of three-year-old company and into the benchmark system.

They're often favoured at the weights based on their ratings and that's just the case for DUCCIO (Race 3) and INZ'N'OUT (Race 2) this weekend.

They will both be on-pace and very hard to run down.

Beating the benchmark - Inz'n'Out is well placed on his best form

3 - Happy to see the Sun!

A lot of the gallopers will jump in the ratings this weekend after a Winter of wet tracks.

DREAM FOLK, MARDI, STRATURBO, FELINES and MAEVEMOO are just a few that will prefer the firmer footing.

On firmer ground - Felines can sprint better on a dry track

4 - More Rain Please

On the flip-side to those horses above, many gallopers won't enjoy a GOOD rated track.

BRILLIANT METEOR, DARCI MAGIC, TATOOSH and MYDREAM are all leaner and more athletic types that find a couple of lengths in the mud.

Wet is best? - Brilliant Meteor is talented, but prefers wet tracks

5 - An Early Drink?

Many of the horses racing this weekend were impressive at the barrier trials, including HIMALAYA DREAM, RAGEESE, TEMPLE OF BOOM and DREAM CHOICE.

The opening race at 12.25pm sees the classy WINE TALES resume after two 'quiet trials', finishing 4th out of 5 and 8th out of 9.

She wasn't asked for much though, don't let her sneak under your radar.

Class edge - Wine Tales will be flashing late in Race 1