| What | Mudgee Races |
| Where | Mudgee Race Club – Ulan Rd, Mudgee NSW 2850 |
| When | Sunday, February 19, 2023 |
| First Race | 12:55pm AEDT |
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Visit Ladbrokes |
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The road to the Country Championships goes through Mudgee Race Club on Sunday afternoon for a competitive eight-race program. The penultimate race of the meeting will see contenders clash for a chance to enter the Country Championship in the autumn at Royal Randwick Racecourse on April 1. The first two gallopers across the winning post will gain entry to the $500,000 feature; however, the qualifiers themselves are worth $150,000 on the way to the big one.
The rail has moved out +4m between the 900m-600m and is in the true position for the remainder of the course proper. The track is listed as Good 4 surface and that should hold true with no rain expected for Sunday. The first race is set to get underway at 12:55pm AEDT.
Mudgee Country Championship Qualifier: Scopics
Dean Mirfin looks to have a stranglehold on this Mudgee Country Championship Qualifier with five of the 14 possible runners in the field and we think his best chance is Scopics. This lightly raced three-year-old gelding debuted a winner on December 6 at Bathurst despatching a small field over 1300m with relative ease. He then won again on December 30 at Orange in Class 1 company, before finding what was close enough to a Heavy deck at Dubbo on January 30 to finish second behind Ticket To Anywhere. He’s been very consistent and only a wet track has left a blemish on his record so far. This son of Devine Prophet has the perfect draw from barrier three as well, with jockey Ashley Morgan having a choice to either lead or drop in for cover. We think they’ll elect the latter with plenty of speed drawn to the outside, so look for Scopics to stalk a hot tempo before peeling off their backs finding career win number three. A top-two finish will see him in the finale on April 1.
Country Championship Qualifier
Race 7 – 
#11 Scopics (3)
3yo Gelding | T: Dean Mirfin | J: Ashley Morgan (56kg)
$6 with Bet365
Best Bet: Xcited
Xcited is looking for three wins on the trot since debuting on January 11 at Canberra and looks to have been placed perfectly from the Bjorn Baker yard. This three-year-old gelding out of Savabeel has been strong to the line in both wins, first over the 1400m at Canberra before stepping up to 1800m at Bathurst. In the latest win he was able to make every post a winner and was holding his rivals nicely to the line; however, the 1600m on Sunday looks like the sweet spot for this progressive type looking to make all again you’d imagine in this small field. A lot of his opposition are out of form and need something easy while Xcited has all the upside in this BM66. Mitchell Bell will roll along throughout and be the one to catch a long way out and we’d be surprised if anything here can match motors with him.
Best Bet
Race 2 – 
#3 Xcited (1)
3yo Gelding | T: Bjorn Baker | J: Mitchell Bell (59kg)
$2.25 with Betfair
Next Best: Billiethefillie
Billiethefillie is looking for back-to-back wins for Brett Robb and can do just that in the sixth race of the program. Her win at Bathurst on February 6 was a powerful effort when kicking clear of rivals to score by three lengths going away from them at the line and can look to do something similar staying in BM58 grade. Clayton Gallagher can just lob in a soft position from barrier five and produce another mid-race move as he did last time out and prove too good for this lot, despite getting 2.5kg for his win. They may even elect to lead here, regardless of where they land in the run, she has some class on her key rivals here, so we’re happy to be with her.
Next Best
Race 6 – 
#6 Billiethefillie (5)
4yo Mare | T: Brett Robb | J: Clayton Gallagher (58kg)
$2.30 with Neds
Sunday quaddie tips for Mudgee
Mudgee quadrella selections
Sunday, February 19, 2023
- 1-4-5
- 6
- 1-3-4-9-11
- 1-3
Investment: $30 for 100%
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