| What | Pakenham Races |
| Where | Pakenham Racing Club – 420 Nar Nar Goon–Longwarry Rd, Tynong VIC 3813 |
| When | Thursday, March 2, 2023 |
| First Race | 5:45pm AEDT |
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Visit Ladbrokes |
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The first of two big back-to-back race nights at Pakenham Racing Club will see the club host a very competitive eight-race program, with the final of the Future Stars Series to be the feature race on the card. The track is currently rated a Soft 5, but with little to no rain predicted on Wednesday and Thursday, we should be racing on a perfect Good 4 surface for the entire meeting. The rail will go back into the true position for the entire circuit, with racing set to get underway at 5:45pm AEDT.
Best Bet at Pakenham: Kiko
The very first race of the evening will feature a three-year-old filly from the Jim Conlan yard Kiko who hasn’t raced outside of Listed or Group company before racing in the Maiden Plate on Thursday. This daughter of Capitalist has raced in races such as the Listed Merson Cooper Stakes, Group 3 Chairman’s Stakes, Listed Talindert Stakes and Group 3 Thoroughbred Breeders Stakes, finishing inside the top six at all of her four starts, including a third in the Talindert Stakes. This filly is much better than Maiden grade, so there is no doubt in our mind that she is a deserved favourite and if she can perform anywhere near her best, she should be breaking her maiden status. Craig Williams has ridden this girl at her last three starts as well as her most recent trial, so with Williams sticking on Thursday, it indicates to us that she is going to Pakenham to win.
Best Bet
Race 1 – 
#6 Kiko (2)
3yo Filly | T: Jim Conlan | J: Craig Williams (56kg)
$2.35 with Bet365
Next Best at Pakenham: Marble Arch
Another of our best bets will come up in the Future Stars Final where the current favourite Marble Arch from the Ben & JD Hayes yard looks very hard to beat. This three-year-old filly was heavily backed – as if unbeatable – on her Australian debut and she won with ease by over four lengths, showing a blistering turn of foot over 1200m. This daughter of Per Incanto then stepped up out of Maiden grade to a Benchmark 64 Handicap where she wasn’t as explosive, but she won by 1.5 lengths with ease. At her last start this filly indicated that she could be looking for more ground, as she was left a bit flat-footed at the top of the home straight, before knuckling down and running through the line strong. Now that she steps up to 1400m in the Final, she should be able to settle mid-field and show that explosive turn of foot that she showed two starts back with the aid of a solid tempo. Daniel Stackhouse has ridden her at both of her last two starts and with him sticking again on Thursday, he will have this filly in the best position and give her every chance to make it three in a row.
Next Best
Race 7 – 
#7 Marble Arch (6)
3yo Filly | T: Ben & JD Hayes | J: Daniel Stackhouse (56.5kg)
$3.10 with Neds
Best Value at Pakenham: Mishima
After having his debut run at Pakenham on the Synthetic track and finishing fourth back on June 27 last year, Mishima from the Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young yard will be returning for his second racing preparation of his short career. This three-year-old colt raced quite ungenerously on debut before fading out in the home straight to finish outside of the placings, as the top three runners put a space on the rest of the field. Since coming back into work, this son of Lord Kanaloa has been given one jump out over 800m at Cranbourne against other three-year-old horses, with the winner of that jump out Miss Subtly breaking her maiden on Tuesday at Bendigo in fine style. On Thursday, Daniel Moor will jump aboard this colt for his first ride and from barrier six we should see Moor push forward and try and sit in the one-one like he did in his jump out. If he settles on the back of the leaders and lets down like he did in that 800m jump out, he will go very close at a very nice each-way price with online bookmakers.
Best Value
Race 3 – 
#5 Mishima (6)
3yo Colt | T: Trent Busuttin & Natalie Young | J: Daniel Moor (59kg)
$11 with Betfair
Thursday quaddie tips for Pakenham
Pakenham quadrella selections
Thursday, March 2, 2023
- 3-5-8
- 1-4-6-7
- 2-5-6-7
- 1-3-4-5
Investment: $192 for 100%
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