SELECTIONS - 8 February 2007

POOMA selections (Location Race#-TAB# Horse [system/s])

Geraldton 6-10 Avantiste [10]
Mornington 1-6 Mercantile [7]
Mornington 6-3 Tall Trees [13]
Mornington 7-1 Boy Wonder [13]
Rockhampton 7-6 Maryvalleyrattler [1]

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

Geraldton 5-3

Comments: Unlucky System 13 took care of the first of our POOMAs and race favourite, Major Yeats, yesterday at Ipswich when he went 300m, buckjumped, the jockey lost his irons and he finished tailed off. Punters then didn't understand the extreme danger they were in when Extreme Danger, which was well backed, tried to overcome the curse of System 13 but faded late for 4th. Today we have another couple of selections that are attempting to reverse the rot.

Mornington 1-6 Mercantile looks the winner after his couple of good runs from a spell though he'll be as short as Roger's temper. He's by a sire that I've got my eye on, Diatribe, which has been producing some really nice types and might even get a really good one. This horse is well named being out of the mare Capitalism. 6-3 Tall Trees only wins one race a year and given that he won two starts back we might be on too late. Still, it's not much of a field though if Professional Lady is anywhere near right then you'd think she'd win by from here to over the road. 7-1 Boy Wonder has been in good recent form and looks a fair chance in his race. Rockhampton 7-6 Maryvalleyrattler is trying to win her 4th race from 8 starts. All three previous wins have been at her home track of Bundaberg though she's run a couple of OK races at Rocky. I don't know the apprentice jockey, S.Holcombe, but he's 2/2 on the horse so far. In the first of those wins he claimed 4kg so he's only been riding this season. Rockhampton is not a track for inexperienced jockeys, as patience is the order of the day. I'd prefer to see a dry track, also, as the Manshood breed really don't go well in the wet. I'll want better than $6 to have a go. Geraldton 6-10 Avantiste rounds out the selections today and must be a chance in an open race. She beat home half of today's rivals last time, though that was in a bunched finish, which is never a good guide. I'll be looking for double figure odds.