With no Highway Handicap this week, Thunderbet’s John Patton has focused on the $32,000 Cootamundra Cup (1600m), which will be run and won on Sunday.
The town is home to the wattle tree, and the club races twice a year, with the picnics being the other meeting, usually in April.
On Sunday, the club has a strong eight-race program, and the Cootamundra Cup looks like a very open race.
The track usually favours on-pace runners, and it’s very hard to make ground from the rear of the field.
My first pick for the Cup is She’s All In ($8.50).
I’ve gone with the Canberra galloper because she races up on pace, and there doesn’t look to be much speed in the race.
Last start in a 1600m Federal at Canberra, she got annoyed out in front but fought on very well. She drops three kilos in weight and loves a good track.
The Joseph & Jones team trains her, and they know how to win a Country Cup. I think she will be very hard to beat and seems over the odds to me.
My second pick is Upper House ($6). This horse comes out of the same Federal as She’s All In, and his run was super, as he charged home late in the race.
I haven’t tipped it on top because it had a better run than She’s All In and meets her one kilo worse off from last start.
The very astute Norm Gardiner trains him, and the nine-year-old loves a good track and will get a strong 1600m.
Ruban Bleu ($3.90) goes in as my third pick. This horse is probably the best horse in the race, but the only worry is that he gets back in his races.
In the Narrandera Cup three starts ago, he was the only horse to make any ground up on that day, which could be a positive heading to Cootamundra.
Trained by Matthew Dale, Olivia Chambers goes on board, and she is riding very well at the moment.
He drops two kilos in weight, and if he has any luck from the draw, he’ll be right in the finish.
The ‘Each Way Play’ this week is Classy Joe ($8). The Victorian is another horse that looks over the odds.
This horse is first-up over 1600m, which is usually a worry for me, but he is trained by the excellent trainer Dan McCarthy, and he wouldn’t be bringing him here if it wasn’t right to go.
Holly Durnan, who is a very exciting up-and-coming apprentice, takes the ride, and she claims two kilos.
This horse loves a good track, and with not much speed in the race, I expect it to be sitting in the first four of the race, making him a great each way play.
Thunderbet selections
- 1. She’s All In ($8.50)
2. Upper House ($6)
3. Ruban Bleu ($3.90)
Each Way Play: Classy Joe $8 and $2.65
