Andrew O’Toole’s Saturday best at Alice Springs (31/10)

Racing returns to the Red Centre today after a three-week hiatus, and with six races carded on Victoria Derby and Golden Eagle Day, one of the Alice Springs Turf Club’s bigger non-Carnival days is eagerly anticipated.

The feature on the card is the $30,000 Steely Sales Handicap, an open handicap over 1100m, and all eyes will again be on the James Carroll-trained Golden Tunes as he bids to keep his unbeaten Pioneer Park record intact.

The 4yo son of Exceedance and the former handy mare Silver Melody (by All Too Hard) has carried all before him in four starts in the Alice, winning on each occasions by big margins – 7.8 lengths, 14.5 lengths, 6 lengths and last time out by 4.5 lengths when he stepped up to 0-70 grade and was too good for Verbosity and Miss Top Gun.

He has really taken to the sand and oil-based surface in Alice Springs after winning once in South Australia – at Port Lincoln in March – prior to coming north, and from an ideal barrier of three and with Jess Booth, who has ridden him at his two most recent starts, again to do the steering, it will be a surprise if he has his colours lowered. He is two from two track and distance and is certainly making every post a winner now he has found his niche in the NT.

Kerry Petrick, with two runners engaged in the six-horse field, poses the biggest threat to Golden Tunes. She will saddle up last-start winner Black Zous (Lek Maloney) as well as topweight Bahama Bay (Stan Tsaikos) and both are talented types with definite claims here.

Black Zous is a six-race winner on the track, and although yet to win at 1100m, he has been four times second from eight attempts. He has won four times over 1000m, twice at 1200m and twice over 1300m, so just needs an 1100m victory to complete the set of sprint trip wins. He was very good first-up three weeks ago when bolting in over 1200m, beating Limited Risk and Princess Pancakes, and although he will have to be at his best to stand a chance of beating the favourite, he is talented and a bold showing seems assured.

Not much went right for Bahama Bay last time out when fourth to Black Zous – he suffered a check at the start and was unable to get into the picture – but he finished on over the final 200m although beaten a long way. He is clearly better than that effort would suggest, and the winner of 11 races can easily bounce back to something like his best here. He is also most adept at 1100m, with three wins and two placings from six attempts, and is twice a winner over the track and distance from three tries.

Boy Big is getting a bit long in the tooth – he’s a 9yo – but he still possesses plenty of zest for racing. He was good first-up this campaign when second to Bahama Bay on 12 September before an out-of-character eighth of nine behind Golden Tunes three weeks ago. He is better than that and could easily bounce back.

Dyer, trained by Scott Westover, won first-up in AS two starts back but was no match for Golden Tunes last time when a well-beaten seventh. He would need to improve to figure in the finish here, while Valimi is fresh-up from a break after having three starts in the Alice for a couple of fifth placings, both behind Venting. He finished ninth in between times in the AS Cup behind Magic Defense and even in a fresh state, this looks on the short side for him.

The Pure Plumbing Handicap, a Benchmark 76 1400m event, will conclude the card and Petrick is again well represented, with three of the eight runners engaged.

Matron Samsing was most unlucky when second to Grinzinger Lass last time out three weeks ago and can turn the tables here, while Mr Jones, a last-start winner, and Limited Risk, both from the Kym Healy stable, make plenty of appeal in a competitive line-up.

The weather in the Red Centre this week has been quite unsettled, with significant rain and storms midweek before improving conditions later in the week. Raceday is meant to be fine but as we know, the forecasters have a habit of getting it wrong. The official forecast for today reads: Sunny. Light winds. The temperature is forecast to reach 33 degrees during the day, and it will be 18 degrees overnight. There is just a 10% chance of any rain, so let’s hope the forecasters are on the mark.

The first race on the six-race card gets underway at 1.25pm (NT time), which is 3.05pm on the eastern seaboard, while the last is timed to go at 4.35pm (NT time), or 6.05pm in New South Wales and Victoria.

BEST BETS

R1 # 3 MILLIONAIRE LOVER
Finished strongly to collar Yule Point and Vatican Rose when they last met in class 2 company on 4 October. Vatican Rose has since come out and won her maiden on 10 October. Takes on the same horses again, plus topweight Voronya, and from an inside gate and up in trip to 1200m, Kerry Petrick’s 3yo son of Rich Enuff should take plenty of beating again in the opener.

R3 # 3 GOLDEN TUNES
Unbeaten in four starts in the Red Centre, and looks most promising. Steps up to open grade here after winning twice in 0-58 company, then again in a 0-64 and last time out, over this trip of 1100m, won by 4.5 lengths in a 0-70 event. Gets in well at the weights after carrying 57kg last time and Jess Booth is unbeaten in two rides on the son of Exceedance. Will again give them something to catch.

R6 # 7 MATRON SAMSING
Should arguably have won last time out on 10 October when just touched off by Grinzinger Lass, a rival again. Senior rider goes aboard this time and suited at the trip of 1400m at which she has won twice and been placed six times from just nine attempts. Competitive line-up but deserves a winning turn.

SELECTIONS

RACE 1 – 3, 2, 1, 4
RACE 2 – 4, 3, 1, 2
RACE 3 – 3, 2, 1, 4
RACE 4 – 2, 1, 4, 3
RACE 5 – 2, 7, 5, 6
RACE 6 – 7, 4, 8, 2

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