SELECTIONS - 10 September 2006

POOMA selections:

There are no POOMA selections today

Non-POOMA selections (and ruffies in red below):

Halidon 2-8, 5-3, 7-1
Hobart 5-3
Kalgoorlie 2-6
Mooree 8-9
Pakenham 2-11, 5-2, 6-9
Sunshine Coast 3-1

Today: Always a tricky racing day is Sunday. Pakenham 5-2 Bolter's Show has won 7 flat races, handles the wet and trialled well over hurdles recently. He might be around $5, which I'd suggest is good value. The other selection at Pakenham is also a jumper, 6-9 Reflective, who won a jumps trial last week. It's a more even field in terms of flat ability than the previous race. If Reflective can handle the wet then he might be OK value at around $5-$6. A couple I like the look of around the place include Sunshine Coast 3-1 Danahar, which is first up for the Brian Guy stable having done all of his racing in Sydney. The system this one comes out of is 9/15 at 64% win profit and 14/15 for the place at 40% profit, which is pretty amazing. You'd think that if he runs up to his old form that he'd win. Mindirie-Halidon gets its annual meeting and 7-1 Manhattan Sky looks like a fair chance to win his 2nd race after dropping from provincial races to country class at Mt Gambier last time and winning easily. Moree 8-9 Offshore Account doesn't put two wins together but has everything to suit in this race.

Yesterday: Well, the ride on Sea Zulu at Eagle Farm was the greatest slaughter since the Battle of Little Bighorn. I was contemplating having a really big bet on it but the fact that the price was so short and it was a race for apprentices only put me off so I didn't get hurt too badly. Having organised more checks than a hundred table cloths, Chad Pay, brought the horse to the outside at which point it looked like he'd be beaten a length or so. The fact that he went down by a short half head and was in front one stride past the post showed what a tragedy beaten he was. He is a talented horse and worth following. My analysis at Flemington was nowhere near as good as the previous week at Caulfield. The mistake I made was assuming that the run-on horses would figure in the finish, which turned out to be completely wrong. Of the notable performances, I thought that Field Hunter looked pretty good and if they avoid the temptation to put him into harder races then he can win a few more. Maybe Better managed to get home though I wasn't impressed with him at all and he doesn't seem to have a lot of scope. Steve Arnold cuddled him and cuddled him and let him down as late as he could and the fact that he didn't dash away from them showed that he hasn't got much ticker. When I saw the pattern of racing for the day I became very confident of the chances of my three POOMA selections at Flemington, as they were all on-pacers. Caprizzi Strip went to the front, stacked them up and then won as he liked in a strong performance. Our Smoking Joe was a tad disappointing in finishing 4th. I do believe that the Caulfield Cup winner will come out of that race, though, with the first four over the line being the contenders. Pompeii Ruler just keeps on doing the job. Bel Danoro looked in trouble but was strong to the line in breaking 1:10 for the 1200m trip, which calls into question the slow track rating. Rewaaya finally managed to do the right thing so I was never going to get the Melbourne quaddie, as I've been successfully backing against her for a year. Up in Sydney the amazing Newton's Rings took it up to the best WFA horses in Sydney and nearly got home with Eremein nabbing him in the last hop. Eremein is high in the market for the Cox Plate but I want to see him improve before giving him a chance in that race. Things went well at Stawell though it would have helped if Allenby's Mate could have been ridden with a tad more judgement, which would have got him home.

POOMAs: Seven selections yeterday for 4 wins (Caprizzi Strip $3.60, Bel Danoro $2.40, Fountain Of Joy $1.80, Glass Park Lady $1.70), two 2nds (Sea Zulu, Allenby's Mate) and a 4th (Our Smoking Joe) meaning we returned $9.50 for $7 investment, which keeps the terrific POOMA run going - the last 9 days with selections have been profitable. See the results post for overall performance.