| What | Caloundra Cup Day 2022 |
| Where | Sunshine Coast Turf Club – 170 Pierce Ave, Caloundra QLD 4551 |
| When | Saturday, July 2, 2022 |
| First Race | 12:53pm AEST |
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Visit Ladbrokes |
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The Queensland Winter Carnival starts to creep its way north this weekend with feature racing set to be run and won at Corbould Park on the Sunshine Coast. The Listed Caloundra Cup (2400m), Listed Glasshouse Handicap (1400m) and Group 3 Winx Guineas (1600m) headline the nine-race program, for which HorseBetting’s Queensland racing expert has come up with some best bets and quaddie numbers.
The track is rated a Good 4 on Thursday, but rain is forecast across the rest of the week, so we are expecting a downgrade before the running of the first race at 12:53pm AEST. The rail is in the true position for the entire course.
Caloundra Cup Best Bet – Alakahan
Alakahan hasn’t won since last year’s Gold Coast Cup (2400m), but we are hoping that the Richard & Will Freedman-trained gelding can add a Caloundra Cup to his CV on Saturday. The six-year-old son of Motivator was a bit luckless in the Listed Winter Cup (2400m) at Rosehill Gardens on June 4, finishing third behind subsequent Brisbane Cup winner Irish Sequel. The gelding has had a tick-over trial in between that run and this, so we don’t expect him to have lost any condition despite the month between runs. From barrier five, Larry Cassidy will have the horse in a nice spot, just forward of midfield, and he should be able to get out with plenty of time to run the leaders down. He is yet to miss the place in four soft-track runs too, so if the rain does come, a rain-affected surface won’t worry him.
Caloundra Cup Best Bet
Race 6 – 
#9 Alakahan (5)
6yo Gelding | T: Richard & Will Freedman | J: Larry Cassidy (54kg)
$7.50 with Ladbrokes
Winx Guineas Best Bet – Battleton
It certainly is not the strongest Winx Guineas this year, but there looks a standout on paper. Battleton has been good without winning this prep, finishing in the minor placings in all three runs behind the likes of Coal Crusher, Vilana and Kiss Sum. His most recent run in the Gunsynd Classic at Eagle Farm over the mile was very good, and that form looks to be clearly superior to the form of his rivals. From gate four, Nash Rawiller will lob in a beautiful spot aboard the Bjorn Baker-trained three-year-old, giving him every chance to show his class. The son of Zoustar has only been out of the placings once in seven starts, and that was a fifth to Home Affairs in the Coolmore Stud Stakes (1200m) at Flemington in the spring, so he is certainly the class horse in this race and we expect him to run accordingly.
Winx Guineas Best Bet
Race 7 – 
#2 Battleton (4)
3yo Gelding | T: Bjorn Baker | J: Nash Rawiller (57kg)
$2.50 with Bet365
Glasshouse Handicap Best Bet – Tumbler Ridge
The double-figure odds seem overs for the Steven O’Dea & Matthew Hoysted-trained Tumbler Ridge. The four-year-old entire comes into the Glasshouse Handicap second-up, following a midfield effort in the Hinkler Handicap on Stradbroke Handicap Day behind Ranges, who has since placed at Group 3 level. The son of Spill The Beans has a win and a second from four second-up runs, while top apprentice Jaden Lloyd has ridden him twice for a victory. On Saturday, Tumbler Ridge steps out to a suitable 1400m, while he also drops 2kg to 54kg. He will get the right run from the six alley, and he will appreciate some sting out of the track, after running on a hard Eagle Farm surface when fresh. This is a nice race for this horse.
Glasshouse Handicap Best Bet
Race 8 – 
#12 Tumbler Ridge (6)
4yo Horse | T: Steven O’Dea & Matthew Hoysted | J: Jaden Lloyd (54kg)
$17 with Neds
Best Bet at the Sunshine Coast – Lime Soda
Lime Soda is a new addition to the Mark Currie stable, and she has hit the ground running with a win coming just seven days ago at the Gold Coast. The three-year-old filly resumed with a third at Doomben behind the classy Fetch, before heading to the provincial circuit on June 25 where she won comfortably over 1100m in good time too. The daughter of Spirit Of Boom is now on the quick back-up, and while this is a tough race, this filly is a classy conveyance who can rise to the occasion under Queensland’s leading apprentice, Kyle Wilson-Taylor.
Best Bet
Race 4 – 
#12 Lime Soda (11)
3yo Filly | T: Mark Currie | J: Kyle Wilson-Taylor (a1.5)(54kg)
$5.50 with PlayUp
Next Best at the Sunshine Coast – Red Rubi
The O’Dea & Hoysted stable have a good team of runners at the Sunshine Coast, and Red Rubi is one of the best chances in our view. The four-year-old mare is unbeaten this preparation, winning well here first-up, before blowing her rivals away at Doomben second-up on June 8, defeating Princess Bojack and Zumikon – two subsequent metropolitan winners. Boris Thornton knows this Rubick filly well, having ridden her three times for two wins and a third – and a luckless one at that. From barrier three, Thornton will have this galloper cuddled up nice and early, before allowing her to hit top gear in the final furlong, which should see her sprint away from her rivals. This is the right race for Red Rubi.
Next Best
Race 2 – 
#11 Red Rubi (3)
4yo Mare | T: Steven O’Dea & Matthew Hoysted | J: Boris Thornton (55.5kg)
$3.50 with Palmerbet
Best Value at the Sunshine Coast – Excelman
There is a bit against Excelman in the last race on Saturday – barrier 20 and 60kg being the two main concerns – but the good outweighs the bad in our books. The grey five-year-old has an excellent first-up record, winning two of five, including the Greys Benchmark 90 on Melbourne Cup Day, so we do expect him to be competitive on Saturday in this. The Richard Laming-trained gelding will have to go forward from the wide barrier under local hoop Tegan Harrison, but if he can get across at his own leisure without doing too much work, he could give this a shake. Back to Benchmark 78 grade is a big drop in grade, given he was beaten only five lengths in Group 3 company at Caulfield in November. The son of Reliable Man trialled well at the Gold Coast, splitting classy sprinters Hard Empire and Bottega, so we expect him to be right up to the mark on Saturday in this. Each way.
Best Value
Race 9 – 
#4 Excelman (20)
5yo Gelding | T: Richard Laming | J: Tegan Harrison (60kg)
$13 with Unibet
Saturday quaddie picks for Sunshine Coast
Sunshine Coast quadrella selections
Sunday, July 2, 2022
- 2-4-9
- 1-2-10
- 2-3-4-7-12-15
- 2-3-4-14
Investment: $216 for 100%
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