It helps to race near the front at Moonee Valley Racecourse in Melbourne, with a stretch slightly shorter than a furlong.

Mamaragan has a forward style that led to a win at Moonee Valley earlier this year, and that is one of the reasons the 5-year-old gelding is favored to win the $85,400 Summer Sprinters Series Final at six furlongs on Saturday evening.

Mamaragan won a five-furlong handicap at Moonee Valley in January in his first start since July. He broke from the outside in a field of nine and was always near the front, winning by three-quarters of a length.

Jacquinot has solidified his reputation as one of Australia’s leading 3-year-olds with two Group 1 wins at seven furlongs since late September.

The colt’s ability at a mile will be tested in the Group 1 Australian Guineas at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne on Friday evening.

Jacquinot will start at a mile for the first time after a desperate nose win in the Group 1 C.F. Orr Stakes at seven furlongs against older horses at Sandown Racecourse on Feb. 11. Ridden by Damian Lane, Jacquinot closed from fifth in a field of 10 to reach the front in the nick of the time.

Well, the gang most definitely is not all here.

Super Saturday, preview day for the March 25 Dubai World Cup Day, includes eight Thoroughbred races, and chances are, if you don’t closely follow winter racing in Dubai, you’re unfamiliar with most of the horses.

Breeders’ Cup Turf winner Rebel’s Romance was among the original entrants in the Dubai City of Gold but was withdrawn from the race this week with a reportedly minor leg issue. He remains on track for a start in the Sheema Classic on the World Cup undercard March 25.

SHA TIN SELECTIONS
(Sunday, March 05, 2023)

A minor stakes winner last July, Cross Talk did not have the same success in group stakes in Australia in the final months of 2022.

A winner of 5 of 11 starts, Cross Talk was third in a Group 3 at seven furlongs in September, but only eighth of 10 in the Group 1 Epsom Handicap at a mile in his final start of the year in October.

The prospects for a breakthrough win are promising for Cross Talk in the Group 3 Newcastle Stakes at seven furlongs at Newcastle Racecourse on Thursday evening.

Ami Please is in the midst of an unconventional preparation for a potential start in the Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs on May 5.

Second in the Group 3 United Arab Emirates Oaks at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai on Feb. 17, Ami Please starts in Saturday’s $175,000 Al Bastakiya Stakes against males at 1 3/16 miles at Meydan.

Cool Amigo may have an ideal race scenario when he starts for the first time since October in a five-furlong handicap at Coffs Harbour Racecourse in Australia on Wednesday evening.

Cool Amigo runs from a tracking position, and is part of a field of eight that includes three primary runners capable of setting a quick pace – King’s Gold, Scotland, and Toy Boy Roy.

HAPPY VALLEY SELECTIONS
(Wednesday, March 01, 2023)

A bad start and traffic issues could not prevent Sanstoc from winning her first start of 2023 in Australia earlier this month.

The gritty win, the third in eight career starts for the New Zealand-bred 4-year-old filly, has led to a high-profile role in a seven-furlong handicap for fillies and mares at Warwick Farm Racecourse in Sydney on Tuesday evening.

Sanstoc was the 2-1 favorite in early betting to beat eight rivals, including contenders such as Arranmore, Minouche, and Kibosh.

The fillies Smooth Sailing and Sumptuary and the gelding Cable Tie had perfect starts to their careers earlier this year, winning maiden races for sprinters in Australia.

All three have been given a logical assignment to a start in a six-furlong handicap at Gosford Racecourse on Monday evening for their second races.

All three have a chance to extend their unbeaten records.

Smooth Sailing was the 5-2 favorite in early betting on Sunday, a slight choice over Sumptuary at 7-2. Cable Tie was relatively ignored in the field of nine at 11-1.