| What | Sandown Hillside Races |
| Where | Sandown Racecourse – 591-659 Princes Hwy, Springvale VIC 3171 |
| When | Saturday, May 27, 2023 |
| First Race | 11:50am AEST |
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Visit Ladbrokes |
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Racing returns to the Hillside track at Sandown on Saturday afternoon for a competitive nine-race card headlined by the Listed Bel Esprit Stakes. With persistent rain forecast on Thursday and hardly the perfect drying conditions on Friday and Saturday, we anticipate we will be racing on a Soft 7. The rail returns to the true position for the meeting, which commences at 11:50am AEST.
Bel Esprit Stakes Top Tip: Katsu
The Listed Bel Esprit Stakes has attracted a small field of nine for the 1000m scamper and it is simply impossible to go past the Grahame Begg-trained Katsu. The three-year-old gelded son of Mikki Isle has won both of his starts this time in with relative ease and with four wins from his past five starts, he is clearly the one to beat in Saturday’s $175,000 feature. Despite drawing barrier eight, we expect Jordan Childs will have no issue having this bloke being three wide with no cover as it is nowhere near as disadvantageous from the 1000m start here as it may be at other tracks. He continues to run great time and despite this being his toughest test to date, Katsu should prove too speedy for his rivals in the Bel Esprit Stakes.
Bel Esprit Stakes
Race 6 – 
#7 Katsu (8)
3yo Gelding | T: Grahame Begg | J: Jordan Childs (54kg)
$2 with Neds
Best Bet at Sandown: Good And Proper
The Mathew Ellerton-trained Good And Proper is yet to finish out of the placings in three runs this time in and we anticipate she will continue her good form on Saturday. The six-year-old mare won impressively two runs back on the Lakeside track over 1400m was super when getting the better of Megamea and Belle Savoir, before running in a stronger race than this at Flemington on May 13 when finishing third. Laura Lafferty’s 3kg claim gets her in with just 59kg on her back and considering she is the best horse in the race, she looks well weighted. Look for her to be at the rear of the field upon straightening and armed with a strong finish, Good And Proper should prove too tough to hold out.
Best Bet
Race 3 – 
#1 Good And Proper (7)
6yo Mare | T: Mathew Ellerton | J: Laura Lafferty (a3) (62kg)
$3.50 with Bet365
Next Best at Sandown: Dashing
Dashing from the Aaron Purcell barn bought up a deserved and slightly overdue third career win when a smart winner at the 1800m here on May 6 and we expect he will go on with the job on the weekend. The three-year-old gelding managed to take a sit off the leaders on that occasion and powered home to get the job done by a half-length. With Laura Lafferty on board and claiming 3kg, look for her to take luck out of the equation and have Dashing in his preferred role, leading the field up and give his rivals something to chase.
Next Best
Race 5 – 
#1 Dashing (8)
3yo Gelding | T: Aaron Purcell | J: Laura Lafferty (a3) (59kg)
$5 with Ladbrokes
Best Value: Green Fly
Green Fly is a four-year-old with plenty of ability and his first-up run at Flemington on May 13 was the definition of a “back me next time” run. The former European gave his rivals too big of a start in BM100 company, before deadset flying home to be beaten just under two lengths over 1400m. The Frankel colt should simply relish the length of the Hillside straight and any give in the ground will only suit this bloke compared to some of his rivals. If he can get a genuinely mile on Saturday, Green Fly has a thunderous turn of foot, and we anticipate he will prove a handful for his rivals in the concluding stages.
Best Value
Race 8 – 
#3 Green Fly (11)
4yo Colt | T: Anthony & Sam Freedman | J: Ben Allen (60kg)
$2.90 with Unibet
Saturday quaddie tips for Sandown races
Sandown quadrella selections
Saturday, May 27, 2023
- 6-7
- 4-5-8-12-15
- 1-3-5-7-8-16
- 1-2-5-8-16
Investment: $300 for 100%
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