Doomben 10,000 preview & betting strategy | Saturday, May 13

Having moved across the road to Eagle Farm last year, the Doomben 10,000 returns to Doomben Racecourse this Saturday for the 89th running of the weight-for-age feature. The 2023 edition of the race will have five Group 1 winners engaged, with reigning champion Mazu returning to try and defend his crown. With the likes of All Aged Stakes winner Giga Kick, 2021 Doomben 10,000 winner Eduardo, The Quokka winner Overpass and star Godolphin runners Vilana and Aft Cabin lining up in the race, we expect to see one of the best editions of the 1200m contest in some time.

2023 Doomben 10,000 betting odds

The Doomben 10,000 betting markets have opened with Giga Kick as the raging odd-on favourite at $1.80 with online bookmakers. The other two runners that are currently under double figures are Aft Cabin ($6.50) and Mazu ($8.50), with Vilana ($10) and Overpass ($14) sitting behind the top three in the market.

2023 Doomben 10,000 speed map

There looks to be an abundance of speed for this year’s Doomben 10,000 with the likes of Eduardo, Overpass, Prince Of Boom and Weona Smartone expected to contest for the lead. With Giga Kick, Aft Cabin and Vilana drawing favourable inside barriers, those three will most likely take a sit in behind the leading quartet around mid-field, leaving Mazu, A Case Of You, Mariamia and Centrefire to run on from the rear of the field. Due to the amount of on-speed runners in this race, it should set up nicely for a runner with a turn of foot to go over the top of the leaders late.

Continue reading for HorseBetting’s top selections and $100 betting strategy for the Doomben 10,000.

2023 Doomben 10,000 race preview & form

The Clayton Douglas-trained Giga Kick has all the runs on the board in the last six months. Last spring he joined Yes Yes Yes as the only the second three-year-old to win The Everest, before going down in the final strides in the Group 1 TJ Smith Stakes earlier this autumn on a Heavy track at Randwick. Throughout his nine-start career, only I Wish I Win in the TJ Smith has come from behind this son of Scissor Kick to beat him, showing that when he hits the front, he is very tough to get past. After going to the Group 1 All Aged Stakes last start and conquering the 1400m for the first time in his career, it has eradicated the queries about him running out the 1200m if he got caught wide or had a torrid run from a wide draw. Craig Williams has followed this gelding everywhere he has gone so far, and he will be making the trip to Doomben to take the reins and seek back-to-back Group 1 victories on Giga Kick.

Many believe the rest of the field will be running for second place, and our quinella horse will be the Mick Price & Michael Kent Jnr-trained import A Case Of You. In two Australian starts since being transferred from Adrian McGuinness in Ireland, the five-year-old entire has finished fifth in the Group 1 William Reid Stakes and sixth in the Group 2 Victory Stakes, settling at the rear of the field and running home strongly each time. There won’t be many people that know a lot about this galloper, but one of his two Group 1 wins came in the Al Quoz Sprint in Dubai in 2022, where he knocked off a number Group 1 winners. Currently we are getting $41 for the win and $7 for the place with online betting sites, and that is too good to pass up.

We have the Peter & Paul Snowden-trained Mazu filling the placings as he seeks to become just the fifth horse to go back-to-back in the Doomben 10,000. The defending champion is the only winner to not have won the Group 1 race at Doomben itself, due to it being run at Eagle Farm last year. The four-year-old son of Maurice hasn’t won since then, and he will rise 2kg in the weights, so there are a few factors going against him this year. However, he has the ability to win and he only finished a length off Giga Kick in the TJ Smith Stakes two starts back, so if we get a Heavy track on Saturday, his chances will only increase.

Joining the race favourite as the only other three-year-old in the Doomben 10,000 will be the James Cummings-trained Aft Cabin, who brings different form lines into this Group 1 contest. This son of Astern has been running against his own age group in the Group 2 Hobartville Stakes, Group 1 Randwick Guineas and Group 2 Arrowfield Stud 3YO Sprint at his last three starts. This is the first time the star Godolphin colt will face older horses, and the exposed form from the top two or three looks a little too strong for him.

2023 Doomben 10,000 selections & best bets

• 8

  GIGA KICK

• 3

  A CASE OF YOU

• 2

  MAZU

• 9

  AFT CABIN

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