Saturday’s edition of Bet Legends Take Us On sees Shaun Beirne taking a firm position against a handful of popular runners across Eagle Farm and Sandown.
After landing a string of successful lays in recent weeks, Beirne is again happy to risk some of the market’s more prominent hopes, believing there is value elsewhere in several feature races.
His strongest opinion comes in Eagle Farm’s Race 7, where he believes the market may have overestimated the chances of Tron Bolt in a race he sees as far deeper than the betting suggests.
Eagle Farm Race 7 – Tron Bolt
Beirne is keen to oppose Tron Bolt despite the gelding’s strong market position.
He believes the race contains plenty of genuine winning chances and isn’t convinced Tron Bolt deserves to hold favouritism.
“Everyone is treating this like a grand final and I think it’s a much deeper race than the market expects,” Beirne said.
While Tron Bolt’s time figures have been strong, Beirne believes there are vulnerabilities in his profile and says several runners around him in betting are capable of turning the tables.
He specifically highlighted Berzelius as a runner he is keen to keep on side for the book.
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Eagle Farm Race 9 – Pride Of Jenni & Half Yours
The Q22 presents another opportunity for Beirne to take on a pair of high-profile runners.
Pride Of Jenni enters the race off another brave front-running performance, but Beirne isn’t convinced the step to 2200 metres is a positive.
“The 2200m is still an unknown and while she was courageous again last start, I’m happy to be against her at the price,” he said.
He is equally cautious regarding Half Yours.
While the wet track and rise in trip appear ideal on paper, Beirne believes the ratings produced this preparation have fallen short of the horse’s spring peak.
“I know the conditions suit, but the big ratings we saw in the spring just haven’t been there this campaign.”
Sandown Race 8 – Gilded Water
At Sandown, Beirne is prepared to oppose Gilded Water despite being willing to forgive the horse’s first-up run.
He notes the gelding suffered EIPH during that performance, but says there were concerns even before race day.
“The lead-up work wasn’t especially inspiring and the ratings don’t suggest he’s dominant in this race.”
Beirne also questioned the tongue-tie addition prior to the first-up run, noting mounting yard observations suggested the horse was uncomfortable with the gear.
With those concerns lingering, he is happy to take the horse on.
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The Verdict
Beirne is taking a contrarian approach on one of the biggest racing days of the winter, opposing several runners expected to attract strong support.
His key lays are Tron Bolt in Eagle Farm Race 7, Pride Of Jenni and Half Yours in the Brisbane Cup, and Gilded Water at Sandown.
As always, the Bet Legends book is prepared to stand against the market and back its opinion. Sign up today at betlegends.com.au.
