Racing returns to Caulfield this Saturday in something of a lull, wedged between last week’s Newmarket Handicap Day and next week’s William Reid Stakes meeting.
As most VOBIS race days tend to be, it’s a difficult program from a wagering perspective. There’s little to be excited about for the racing fan outside the Peter Young Stakes, where the first three horses in betting are owned by the same owner and trained by the two premier stables in Australia. Not overly compelling, if you ask me.
Still, I’ll have one bet on the program, and that will be Salty Pearl.
She was unsuited by the way the track played at Flemington last week, settling wide without cover and near last on a day where the advantage clearly lay with those up on speed and close to the inside. Even so, she worked home strongly, running her final 800 metres six lengths faster than the class standard in a race that rated strongly overall.
She has previously shown the ability to settle much closer to the speed, holding fourth in the Fillies Classic at The Valley in a race run at a genuine pace. She backs up on the quick turnaround, regains the blinkers and now reaches the fourth run of her preparation.
She is unequivocally the most accomplished horse in the field and looks exceptionally well treated at the weights. She will be the pundits’ pick, and rightly so. From a price perspective she will almost certainly start odds-on.
One and done at Caulfield.
