Hawkesbury racing tips & top odds | Thursday, December 16

Hawkesbury Best Bet – Short Shorts

The penultimate race is a pretty hot affair, with the likes of Sweet Ruby, Little River, My Snow Queen and Short Shorts all lining up in this Fillies & Mares Benchmark 64. We are with Brad Widdup’s three-year-old filly Short Shorts after she was an impressive 1.7-length winner on debut at Newcastle on November 28. The daughter of Iffraaj was able to settle in the leading pair in her first start, then took over before the 400m and raced away with the prize over 1300m on a Heavy 8 track. This one is bred to get over further, so the extra 100m should suit her on Thursday, while the Soft 6 will be to her liking. Alysha Collett did the riding on debut and stays on here, which is a big plus as she will need to overcome barrier 10. Provided she gets over easily enough, we expect Short Shorts to be very hard to beat at her second start.

Next Best Bet at Hawkesbury – Nicochet

In the second leg of the Hawkesbury quaddie, trainer Jason Coyle and jockey Regan Bayliss combine with the consistent Nicochet. The eight-year-old son of Nicconi has won only four of his 55 career starts, but we have seen him in the minor money on a further 19 occasions. He has never won at Hawkesbury, but he has managed two placings in his four starts at the track, including an incredibly close second on October 10 over the same 1400m trip which he is faced with on Thursday. Drawn well in barrier three, Bayliss will hopefully be able to use that to his advantage and settle closer on the four-time winner before navigating a path in the straight. Nicochet did his best work at the end of the 1300m last time out on a Heavy 9 at this track, so he should relish the rise in trip.

Hawkesbury Value Bet – Lepreezy

We tipped this ex-Central Queensland galloper a week or so ago, but new trainer Annabel Neasham opted to scratch from that and save her for this weaker race. Lepreezy has won nine of her 19 starts to date, beating some of CQ’s best sprinters, including Master Jamie, Spring Creek and Bogey Man. Of the nine wins, this daughter of Better Than Ready won six over 1050m and three over 1100m, so the 1100m around Hawkesbury should be right up her alley. Resuming as a five-year-old on November 20 at the Sunshine Coast, Lepreezy hit the line nicely into fourth behind Xerri and Aleysa’s Dream in a 1000m No Metro Wins race. From barrier four under Ellen Hennessy, the bay mare can take up her favoured role, run them along at a solid clip and show a good kick in the straight. She has plenty of speed and ability, while the 3kg claimer on board should just have to sit and steer. This isn’t the strongest race for her to kick off her New South Wales career.