| What | Pakenham Races |
| Where | Pakenham Racing Club – 420 Nar Nar Goon–Longwarry Rd, Tynong VIC 3813 |
| When | Thursday, January 19, 2023 |
| First Race | 5:45pm AEDT |
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Visit Ladbrokes |
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Night racing will return to Pakenham Racing Club this Thursday night when its hosts the first night of the Future Stars Maiden Series on a very competitive eight-race program. The track is currently rated a Good 4, and with warm weather forecast for the Wednesday and Thursday, we don’t expect to see a track any softer than a Good 4. The rail will be in the +3m position for the entire circuit, while racing gets underway at 5:45pm AEDT.
Best Bet at Pakenham: Keitel
The Mick Price & Michael Kent Jnr-trained Keitel picks himself as a clear best bet of the night out of Pakenham. The three-year-old gelding smoked his rivals on debut on the Pakenham Synthetic on August 1, before he was sent to the paddock. He returns to Pakenham, this time to the turf track and with Patrick Moloney retaining the ride, simply rates perfectly in Class 1 company. Have drawn out wide in barrier nine, look for Moloney to have this bloke settled with cover in the moving line. If afforded that luxury, Keitel showed an excellent turn of foot on debut and if he repeats that, the Keitel just simply wins this. The $2.30 on offer with online bookmakers is a perfect price to load into.
Best Bet
Race 2 – 
#5 Keitel (9)
3yo Gelding | T: Mick Price & Michael Kent Jnr | J: Patrick Moloney (58.5kg)
$2.30 with Bet365
Next Best at Pakenham: Distorted Mission
Distorted Mission from the Simon Zahra barn was the definition of a good thing beat when first-up having travelled three wide with no cover up on speed to only go down by a nostril on the line. The three-year-old gelding showed enough in his initial campaign that he should be winning this on Thursday when splitting the proven city class pair of Michelotti and Attrition at Sandown on July 27. He has shown throughout his career that he loves being close to the speed and from barrier 11, we expect to see Damien Thornton roll forward and take up a prominent position. As long he does not get trapped wide once again, we expect Distorted mission to be breaking his maiden at start five.
Next Best
Race 6 – 
#2 Distorted Mission (11)
3yo Gelding | T: Simon Zahra | J: Damien Thornton (58kg)
$6.50 with Neds
Value Bet at Pakenham: Headline Story
We will be looking to make our presence felt early on in the card when the Phillip Stokes-trained Headline Story goes around in the fourth heat of the Future Stars series. The three-year-old gelding comes to this 1200m scamper first-up off a four-month spell and considering he finished under a half-length off subsequent Group 2 winner Tijuana when on debut, he presents great value on Thursday. He was last seen finishing three-lengths off the smart Demon Award at Echuca on a Heavy 10, so if the rain does arrive, we know he will handle the wet ground well enough. The Headwater gelding tends to make his own luck up on speed and from barrier eight, we expect Jye McNeil will have this bloke settled outside the leader and when asked for an effort, he should be kicking clear and saluting at a nice price.
Best Value
Race 3 – 
#9 Headline Story (8)
3yo Gelding | T: Phillip Stokes | J: Jye McNeil (58kg)
$9 with Bet365
Thursday quaddie tips for Pakenham
Pakenham quadrella selections
Thursday, January 19, 2023
- 4-5-6
- 2-7
- 1-4-7-10
- 4-8-11
Investment: $72 for 100%
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