Two rules stand out when it comes to punting on Bendigo Cup day.
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Firstly, staw away from the topweights in the Bendigo Cup and, secondly, never leave Shane Fliedner-trained horses out of your multiples.
This year’s Cup is light on for numbers, but it remains an intriguing race.
The Darren Weir-trained topweight Howard Be Thy Name will have plenty of support, but I’m happy to risk him.
In modern times the Bendigo Cup has been dominated by stayers down in the weights.
Last year’s winner The Offer is the only horse in the past six runnings of the Cup to carry more than 55.5kg and win.
That’s why I’m leaning to Our Century and Second Bullet to fight out the race.
Our Century is very short in early markets. If he doesn’t get out to $3 then I’d rather back Second Bullet each-way at around the $6-$7 mark.
Second Bullet, trained by Danny O’Brien, is dropping back in grade to a suitable race, he loves dry ground and the spacious track at Bendigo suits his racing style.
Here’s a guide to the remaining nine races:
Race 1 – Clinton McDonald has a promising crop of three-year-old’s and first starter Good Therapy has been backed to win on debut. $2 is too short for me. Remember the Fliedner rule – it might be better to back Inaminute ($9.50) each-way.
Race 2 – Hard to get overly excited about the form in this race. The Trent Bussuttin team is flying, so I’ll go with his first starter Serenity Rose ($7.50).
Race 3 – Bendigo galloper Magnarock was scratched from Sydney on Saturday for this race. He has good ability and will be hard to beat at around the $3.30 mark.
Race 4 – Don’t leave local galloper Hay Handsome ($23) out of anything. He put in a huge effort to win at Swan Hill first-up from a spell. This is tougher, but at that price he’s worth a flutter.
Race 5 – Short-priced favourite Strykinglee ($2) looks the horse with the most upside. Stella The Boss ($7.50) is the best value for each-way punters.
Race 6 – Duibio ($3.40) was less than three lengths behind Supido three stars ago – that’s good enough form to win this.
Race 7 – Another hard race to find a winner. Buckler ($6) has drawn a better gate this time and shouldn’t get as far back as he was last start.
Race 9 – Any of the nine horses could win this. Cauthen ($7.50) has had excuses past two starts and will race on the pace in a field that lacks speed.
Race 10 – King Of England ($3.30) might be one of the better bets of the day here. 1600m suits and he’ll strip much fitter for his first-up run.