Riccarton Park tips and results

Our price $2.60 · SP $5.00 · Wiremu Pinn

Never Too Much is a Listed-placed three-year-old dropping into a maiden off a last-start third where he ran close to a winning standard. He draws barrier one, races handy and meets a field of mostly exposed non-winners.

Our price $8.00 · SP $3.80 · Bridget Grylls

Delight has placed at her last two starts on rain-affected tracks and gets a soft draw to settle just behind the leaders. Her Ashburton third was well beaten by the winner but came after a slow start, and her synthetic 1400m effort earlier in the year shows she is good enough to win a race like this.

Our price $10.00 · SP $19.00 · Hayley Hassman

Reservoir is the overlay in this race. He has already run second over this course and distance on soft ground when racing forward, and his best synthetic run at 1400m would be competitive with anything here.

Our price $2.80 · SP $3.80 · Hayley Hassman

He races handy, which is the winning pattern at Riccarton, and carries a light weight after the claim. The only real query is the step to 3000m for the first time, but his finishing pattern says he will stay.

Our price $7.00 · SP $4.70 · Jack Taplin

Canheroc is the consistent but hard-to-win-with type who should run well without being a confident win play. He races on the pace, draws well and placed under 60kg on Soft 5 last start.

Our price $6.50 · SP $17.90 · Liam Kauri

Prince Alby is the value runner because the race shape suits him so well. He is the only genuine leader with a rails draw in a race predicted to be run slowly, on a track where front-runners are hard to catch in this grade. Two starts back he beat Canheroc home in a strong Open race at Riccarton.

Our price $15.00 · SP $8.70 · Tom Wigram

False Queen is the overlay in this field. Her trainer has been winning regularly and the rider pairing has an outstanding record together, which is the kind of intent signal worth noting with an unraced juvenile. She is not expected to beat the two proven horses but represents each-way value against the other debutantes.

Our price $7.00 · SP $6.00 · Hayley Hassman

The most talented horse in the race on what she has shown so far, with a maiden win and a Riccarton second that would both measure up at this level. She races on the speed, which is the winning profile here, and the stable is in red-hot form. The concerns are real though: first up after five months, a sharp class rise and barrier 14.

Our price $7.50 · SP $7.50 · Lisa Allpress

A consistent mare whose recent form at 1400m and 1600m is as strong as anything in this field, with a Riccarton second and a last-start Soft 5 placing. She is fit, forward racing and gets a top jockey. The questions are the drop to 1200m, where she is yet to place, a middle-wide draw and an extra three or four kilos.

Our price $12.00 · SP $17.00 · Jasmine Fawcett

A genuine overlay for a horse whose profile suits this race well. He improves second up, was held up at a vital stage when third first-up, and draws the inside on a track that rewards handy runners from low gates. Wet ground is a positive, with wins on soft and heavy, and his 1200m record is solid.

Our price $5.00 · SP $7.00 · Rohan Mudhoo

Miss Starlight ran the best race of her campaign last start when a nose second in this exact grade at Riccarton over 1200m, and she now draws barrier one with an on-pace style that this track rewards. The drying Soft 5 suits her far better than the heavy ground she failed on earlier.

Our price $6.00 · SP $9.80 · Hayley Hassman

Cool Aza Rene is the classiest runner here, a five-time winner with a strong record at Riccarton and a stakes-placed background. Her August second in this grade on heavy ground was among the better recent form lines in the field, and last start she finished within two lengths of Hasstobefast from a hopeless gate. She races handy, which this track demands, and the leading Walker and Bergerson stable is firing. The wide barrier again is the issue and stops her from being top pick, but she should still be in the finish.

Our price $11.00 · SP $22.30 · Wiremu Pinn

Hasstobefast won this very race grade over the Riccarton 1200m last start, beating two of today's fancied runners, and she arrives with the best run of recent form in the field. She has a good draw, races handy and picks up a rider who has won a quarter of his rides here.

Our price $5.50 · SP $5.50 · Hayley Hassman

One True King is the best map fit in the race. With no confirmed leader and a moderate tempo likely, he should park in the first three from barrier 4 at a track where handy runners dominate mile races on soft ground. His last two runs at this level over the mile were a close second and an excused fourth, he is improving, and the stable is flying.

Our price $6.50 · SP $10.00 · Leah Hemi

Vendabelle brings the strongest Riccarton soft-track form in the field. Her autumn campaign produced a win at 1800m and a close second at 2000m at this level, and she was placed over this course and distance before that. Her first-up sixth from barrier 20 was better than it reads.

Our price $10.00 · SP $16.00 · Jasmine Fawcett

New Beginning is the overlay. She has won at this level over the mile on soft ground this campaign and followed up with a close fourth after giving away ground from barrier 16. Today she draws 6 and should settle midfield, closer to the action than last time. Each-way is the play.

Our price $7.00 · SP $12.00 · Rohan Mudhoo

Her last-start win over this exact course and distance was as good as anything in the race, and her Listed placings here as a two-year-old prove she belongs in this grade. The concern is a get-back racing style on a track that rewards handy runners, compounded by a likely slow tempo. Still, a good draw and light weight give her every chance of overcoming the map.

Our price $8.00 · SP $9.00 · Triston Moodley

He is the only black-type winner in the race, having taken the Listed Champagne Stakes here, and his two Riccarton runs this time in ran to a high standard before a wide, three-wide run at Ashburton produced a forgivable failure. The stable is firing and he usually settles in the first few, which suits the slow map and the on-pace bias here.

Our price $8.00 · SP $10.80 · Leah Hemi

Witz End is the horse the slow tempo is most likely to help. He has a strong record at 1400m, ran a sound third behind Mystic Park first up, and his best win in this grade at Riccarton was high quality. The concerns are real though: his Soft-track record is poor, he must work from barrier 10 to lead, and Toa Haka could pressure him.

Our price $11.00 · SP $21.10 · Courtney Barnes

Brave Spirit is the overlay in the race. His last-start ninth at Ashburton was from a wide draw and the run was far better than the bare result, while his earlier form includes an Open win on Soft ground, a Heavy-track win at Riccarton and a Listed placing over 1400m. He drops to 54kg, draws barrier 4 and races on the pace, which is precisely the profile that wins Open sprints here.

Our price $4.50 · SP $14.00 · Jack Taplin

He is a Group 3 winner on soft ground, drops back in class, and is the lone genuine leader in a race expected to be run at a slow tempo on a track where front-runners win far more than their share. His last-start second behind Unleash The Beast came under a heavier weight when held up, and he meets that horse on better terms today.

Our price $10.00 · SP $34.00 · Mereana Hudson

Unleash The Beast is the value runner. He won last start over 2200m in a race that produced several of today's rivals, and his wet-track 2000m win at Riccarton in September was a powerhouse effort. He carries only 53kg and handles rain-affected ground.

Our price $5.00 · SP $6.00 · Triston Moodley

She won this grade over this track and distance on soft ground in late August, leading all the way from barrier 1, and she draws the fence again today. Her two runs since were over 2200m and she looked to find the trip too far both times.

Our price $8.00 · SP $8.50 · Leah Hemi

Powerofpersuasion is the most reliable winner in this field with four wins from 15 and a sound record on rain-affected ground.

Our price $8.50 · SP $7.00 · Floor Moerman

He's Lucid is the trip-away runner for Kevin Myers, a trainer who wins at better than one in five at Riccarton. He is a dependable placegetter who handles wet ground well, and his second on heavy ground at Wanganui in this grade shows he is up to the class. His last-start eighth at Hastings is a worry and he rarely wins, but with 60kg from a good draw he should be in the finish.

Our price $9.50 · SP $27.00 · Bridget Grylls

She won two races at this exact grade on soft ground in August and September, then had excuses in both runs since, copping interference at the start at Riccarton and then being asked to run in an Open-class Cup at Ashburton. The weight rise and jockey form keep it to each-way.