| What | Sunshine Coast Cup Day |
| Where | Sunshine Coast Turf Club – 170 Pierce Ave, Caloundra QLD 4551 |
| When | Saturday, January 27, 2024 |
| First Race | 12:13pm AEST |
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Visit Dabble |
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The Listed Sunshine Coast Cup will headline the massive 10-race card at the Sunshine Coast Turf Club on Saturday afternoon. With the track rated a Soft 5 on Thursday and very little rain forecast for Saturday, we expect that the track will improve into the Good range and see us race on a perfect surface for the whole meeting. The rail will be in the +3m position for the entire circuit, with the opening race on Sunshine Coast Cup Day set to jump at 12:13pm AEST.
Sunshine Coast Cup Tip: Essone
The feature race of the day represents a very good chance for the Richard Litt-trained Essone to break through for a deserving victory at her fifth start this time in. Recently, this five-year-old mare has been racing well without much luck at all. This daughter of Reliable Man was very unlucky in the Listed Nudgee Stakes when she ran up the rail and was blocked for a run by the eventual winner, Lady Laguna, who has since won again. From barrier five, Justin Huxtable should be able to settle off the rail and slightly worse than midfield. With even luck in the final 400m, Essone can run over the top of the leaders late with a strong finishing burst.
Sunshine Coast Cup
Race 8 – 
#6 Essone (5)
5yo Mare | T: Richard Litt | J: Justin Huxtable (56kg)
+550 with Dabble
Best Bet at Sunshine Coast: Bossed Up
After returning with two impressive wins to kick off this preparation, Bossed Up missed the kick in the Magic Millions Syndicate at weight-for-age level last start, which saw him never contest the race. Even though the Tony Gollan-trained gelding was beaten 5.4 lengths behind Derry Grove, he was only 2.5 lengths off third place in a bunched finish. This son of Better Than Ready will appreciate the drop in grade and distance on Saturday. James Orman will jump back aboard, and if he can get this guy to jump better from barrier six, Bossed Up should prove very hard to beat.
Best Bet
Race 5 – 
#2 Bossed Up (6)
3yo Gelding | T: Tony Gollan | J: James Orman (59kg)
+110 with Picklebet
Next Best at Sunshine Coast: Solar Apex
Solar Apex returned from a 26-week spell at Doomben on January 10, where the Jack Bruce-trained gelding ran on from midfield to go down in a tight finish behind Hollywood North over 1350m. First-up, this six-year-old gelding was given a great ride from barrier one but lacked the race fitness of the winner; however, he ran through the line strong enough to suggest a step up in trip would be ideal. This son of Deep Impact will get exactly that on Saturday, where he will be second-up and would have taken a lot of benefit from his fresh performance. With the aid of Cejay Graham’s 1.5kg claim and a good barrier (5), Solar Apex should go very close.
Next Best
Race 4 – 
#1 Solar Apex (5)
6yo Gelding | T: Jack Bruce | J: Cejay Graham (a1.5) (62kg)
+450 with PlayUp
Best Value at Sunshine Coast: Winburn
Winburn will return to his home track on Saturday, coming off a narrow victory over Shamrock Lu at Ipswich over 1100m on January 13. The Stuart Kendrick-trained gelding settled on speed and appeared as though he had run his race 200m from home before kicking back strongly to claim a tight photo finish. Stepping up in distance to 1200m looks like the right choice for this son of Shooting To Win, who has a strong record at this track and trip (5:3-0-1). From barrier 10, Ryan Wiggins will have to push forward, and he should land in the one-one behind the leaders. If Winburn can get moving on the home turn and hit the front early in the straight, he will prove hard to run down late.
Best Value
Race 9 – 
#8 Windburn (10)
5yo Gelding | T: Stuart Kendrick | J: Ryan Wiggins (56kg)
+1500 with Neds
Saturday quaddie tips for the Sunshine Coast
Sunshine Coast quadrella selections
Saturday, January 27, 2024
- 1-2-6
- 3-5-6-13
- 1-5-8-9-12
- 2-7-9-12
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