| What | Newcastle Races |
| Where | Newcastle Racecourse – 100 Darling St, Broadmeadow NSW 2292 |
| When | Thursday, February 24, 2022 |
| First Race | 1:15pm AEDT |
| Feature Race | Race 7: Provincial-Midway Championships Qualifier (1400m) |
| Watch Live | |
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Streaming Live at Sportsbet |
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HorseBetting’s New South Wales form analyst presents his best bets and quaddie numbers for the eight-race card at Newcastle on Thursday, including a pick in the featured Provincial-Midway Championships Qualifier. The track is rated a Good 4, and the rail is in the true position for the entire course. The first race gets underway at 1:15pm AEDT.
Provincial-Midway Championships Qualifier – Rustic Steel
Local trainer Kris Lees saddles up four-year-old gelding Rustic Steel in the feature on Thursday, and he looks mighty hard to beat. The son of Deep Field went brilliantly in his first-up run at Randwick on February 5, closing off strongly from the back to run third behind Maotai and Silent Impact in a 1200m Benchmark 78. Those two aforementioned runners are Group-class horses, so to be less than three lengths off them looks very good for a race like this. From barrier five, Hugh Bowman won’t have to do too much work early, as he should end up in a terrific spot in the first half of the field. Rustic Steel drops 2.5kg in weight from his first-up run, bringing him down to 57.5kg under set weight conditions. He is unbeaten at this track, and he should improve second-up and out to 1400m.
Best Bet at Newcastle – Monfelicity
David Payne and Keagan Latham combine in the opener with the ATC Oaks-bound Monfelicity. The three-year-old filly broke her maiden status in fine style on the Beaumont track at Newcastle on January 31, leading all of the way over 2100m to win by 3.8 lengths. The daughter of Vadamos then dropped back to 1890m at this track on February 12 and was reeled in late by Gin Martini, so we are expecting her to relish getting back out to a more suitable distance of 2300m. Having drawn well in barrier five, Latham will take Monfelicity to the front and she should be the elite stayer of this crop.
Next Best at Newcastle – Zalini
Brad Widdup and Alysha Collett combine with Zalini, who was a last-start winner at this track and distance on February 12. The three-year-old filly by Nicconi broke her maiden in fine style, kicking clear over 900m to win by a length. On debut back in April, Zalini finished fifth behind Gleneagles and Overpass, both of whom are placed at Group level, while Overpass defeated Anamoe in the Expressway Stakes in January. On that form alone, Zalini should be too good for her rivals here, but she also brings good formlines from this campaign. First-up, Zalini split Ringarosa and Mentalism, with the latter winning well at Kembla Grange on Tuesday. She should lead from barrier one and prove too sharp once again.
Best Value at Newcastle – Affidavit
A field of nine two-year-olds are set to do battle in the third race of the day, with five of those having their first start. We are siding with one from the raced brigade in the form of the James Cummings-trained Affidavit. The colt by Frosted has had two starts, beating one home on debut on a Heavy 10 track at Rosehill before finishing midfield at Warwick Farm on February 9 on a Soft 5 track. Affidavit finished behind Lady Laguna on debut and then ran home behind Robusto at his most recent start, so he has been up against some handy youngsters on both occasions. Cummings has elected to apply blinkers for the first time on Thursday, which will sharpen him up nicely, while he also gets a dry track for the first time. He can hopefully settle closer from barrier seven under Tim Clark and prove hard to beat in what is an open betting race with online bookmakers.
Thursday quaddie numbers for Newcastle
| Newcastle quadrella selections | |
|---|---|
| Leg 1: | 3-4-5-11 |
| Leg 2: | 1-3-12 |
| Leg 3: | 1-2-3-8-13 |
| Leg 4: | 2-3-5-12 |
| Investment: | $240 for 100% |
