| What | Newcastle Races |
| Where | Newcastle Racecourse – 100 Darling Street, Broadmeadow NSW |
| When | Thursday, March 17, 2022 |
| Feature Race | Race 7 – Provincial-Midway Championships Qualifier (1400m) |
| First Race | 1:15 AEDT |
| Watch Live | |
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Streaming Live at Sportsbet |
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The fifth heat of the Provincial-Midway Championship Series will be run and won at Newcastle on Thursday, with a quality 12-horse field set to do battle. HorseBetting’s New South Wales form analyst brings you his best bets and quaddie numbers for throughout the meeting, as well as his top selection in the $150,000 feature event. Close to perfect conditions for racing are likely, with the track rated a Soft 5 at the time of writing, while the rail is out 6m for the entire course, which should give horses every chance to wind up on the big straight at Newcastle. Racing will get underway at 1:15pm AEDT, with the running of a Maiden Handicap over 900m.
Provincial-Midway Championships Qualifier Best Bet – Never Talk
Local trainer Kris Lees knows how to win a feature at Newcastle, and while it may be an obvious statement because he trains three of the market fancies in this event, but we think he will walk home a winner. Never Talk has always been a mare we have plenty of time for and this race looks ideal for her, given she has just run a terrific third at Group 3 level. The four-year-old mare by No Nay Never has won five of her 17 starts, while she has a 50% strike rate at Newcaslte. James McDonald will do the riding from barrier one, which should see this classy galloper ridden comfortably throughout the 1400m event, before she is allowed to let rip in the straight and finish the race off with her devastating turn of foot. It has been a little while between drinks, but this looks a good race for her to build some confidence back up.
Newcastles Best Bet Of The Day – Whodat
We were a little bit frustrated to see that Whodat had won dominantly at Newcastle last start after he was slaughtered as our best of the day at Ipswich the start prior, but he showed exactly what we knew he had under the bonnet when recording a 4.5-length victory at this track and distance. The Matt Dunn-trained four-year-old was given a terrific steer on March 4 to break his maiden, so with all things being equal on Thursday, there is no reason why Whodat can’t win again. The son of Nicconi has drawn favourably in gate five, so Rawiller can have him midfield with cover, while he faces another pretty weak Class 1 event. If he replicates what we saw from him a fortnight ago, he should be too good again.
Next Best Bet – Bobby Is King
In the second race of the day, Bobby Is King looks beautifully placed to break his maiden. The three-year-old gelding has had three starts to date, finishing runner-up at Goulburn in his most recent start when a drifting favourite. The Robert Quinn-trained son of Bobby’s Kitten finished fourth on debut on the back of a good trial win, before running fifth in a solid 3YO Maiden at Warwick Farm on February 9. Now fourth-up and at 1400m once again, the gelding should be mighty hard to hold out. Jay Ford will do the steering for the first time, but from barrier four, he is not going to have to do any work on the top weight except for sit and steer. The odds-on quote looks spot on.
Best Value At Newcastle – Titled Tycoon
Richard & Michael Freedman saddle up $51 chance in the second leg of the quaddie, with Titled Tycoon looking to win his third race. The four-year-old gelding has had four starts at this track for a third and two wins, including a dominant 4.2-length romp back in July. The son of Written Tycoon went north to Queensland later in July, running a good third behind Victoria Park and Eelloh, before pulling up quickly in a Class 3 over 1815m at Eagle Farm on July 31. In two trials back, he has not been beaten far without threatening, but he does boast a good first-up record, he will race up on the speed and he has a brilliant record at this track, so we can’t quite work out how he is a $51 chance. Keagan Latham had feature race success in the Canberra Guineas on Monday, so he will be riding with a bit of confidence too. You could have worse each-way bets that Titled Tycoon.
Thursday night quaddie for Newcastle
| Newcastle quadrella selections | |
|---|---|
| Leg 1: | 1-2-9-11-12 |
| Leg 2: | 1-2-3-7-12 |
| Leg 3: | 1-3-9 |
| Leg 4: | 2-4-8-11-13 |
| Investment: | $375 for 100% |
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