BRC Sprint betting preview, tips & best odds | Doomben, Race 8

The Group 3 BRC Sprint will be run and won on Saturday at Doomben with a field of 16 fighting for a spot in the Stradbroke Handicap. Run over the traditional 1350m start at Doomben with $175,000 prizemoney on the line, Garibaldi is the $3.50 favourite ahead of Skins ($6) and Groundswell ($8). There looks to be plenty of speed on paper from Sircconi, Master Jamie, Emerald Kingdom, Special Reward, Axe and Fender, while we can also expect to see Olmedo and Groundswell prominent from their low gates. HB’s Queensland tipster has found the BRC Sprint top three and brings you his $100 betting strategy for the race.

2021 BRC Spring betting tips

While we concede both Garibaldi and Skins are going to be very hard to beat, we’ve found one at a sneaky each-way price that could just get away with it. Nick Ryan’s Sircconi makes his way up from Victoria for this and if he reproduces the run from his latest win in July 2020, he will take a power of beating in this. The six-year-old son of Nicconi was only narrowly beaten by Savatiano in a Group 2 last campaign, and returned with a four length defeat to the talented Dice Roll at Sandown three weeks ago. Yulong January finished second that day and then trounced his rivals last start to frank the form. Sirconni drops 4kg, gains Nash Rawiller and will be either leading or just stalking his rivals from the cushy barrier two. The $19 available at Australian betting sites appeals. It will just be a question of Sircconi can sustain the speed.

Garibaldi was probably a certainty beaten in his first-up run after Rodd made the decision to go back inside runners before coming back to the outside to be beaten a head by Fender. The four-year-old drops 3.5kg in weight into this Group 3 and gets the services of Glen Boss which should be a plus. Drawn well in barrier five, the son of I Am Invincible is going to settle midfield with a drop on most of the leaders which will give him a lovely cart into the race. He races exceptionally well at Doomben with two wins and three seconds from eight starts and if he reels off the sectionals he did last start when fresh he should be hard to beat. Tony Gollan believes he has what it takes to win the Stradbroke Handicap, but he needs to win this to gain a start. It will be all systems go.

One horse we have plenty of time for is David Vandyke’s Skins. The five-year-old son of Sepoy was the first emergency, but the scratching of Flash Aah meant he gained a spot albeit from the outside barrier (16). Having won five of seven starts and finishing in the minor money on the other two occasions, it is clear that the big chestnut has ability. Skins raced away to a dominant 3.25-length win first-up, before gapping his rivals to win by 1.75 lengths second-up, with Axe, who put up 2.5 lengths on the third horse, finishing second. Skins then went on to win by a similar margin last weekend to frank the form in a big way. Steph Thornton riding and from an from the outside alley is a plus, but he will have a lot of horses in front of him from out there. He’s a superstar if he wins this.

Best bets for 2021 BRC Sprint