Doomben | 24 April 2021

This nine-race meeting at Doomben has a scent of the Brisbane Winter Carnival in the air, with quality racing throughout and three listed events. Surprisingly, despite dry weather, the track was rated a Soft 6 on Friday afternoon, but I’d be surprised if its not nearing the Good 4 (at least Soft 5) range by the start of the program.

BEST BET: Race 5 #1 – Olmedo

Olmedo is dropping back sharply in grade after going around first-up in the Doncaster. He was rightfully long odds and it wasn’t too surprising he was thrashed. But he does get a number of gear changes here for his maiden assignment in the sunshine state. His two trials before that Doncaster failure were quite encouraging and he finds a race he can pick off due to the fact Brisbane’s middle distance / staying ranks are quite average. If he shows his best, outlined when finishing 2.65L in the Cantala, he will put this field away with ease. He has earned the 61kg and from barrier one he gets such an economical run with Ryan Maloney aboard.

NEXT BEST: R7 #5 – Miss Iano

Miss Iano is a real enigma, but she has an abundance of talent when on song. She draws a lovely gate down low, and gets the necessary speed on early for her to pick runs off along the fence late or swing wide. The latter is likely the best option as she seems a swooper who enjoys being outside horses. The query is she’s not much of a winner and hasn’t won for almost two years. However, her two runs in Queensland have been full or merit, narrowly beaten by Racecourse Road and a solid showing behind Athiri.

BEST EACH-WAY: R4 #1 – Exclusive

He’s got the 60kg but I’d argue he’s earned it against this field. While barrier four looks good on paper – and gives Kirk Matheson options – I suspect he’ll be back to last and struggling to keep up. The plus from that perspective is there’s an abundance of speed in this race. He can work up on the fence when they straighten and keep working to the line. We added him to the blackbook off his last run at Eagle Farm where his run was full of merit. He settled back last from the wide gate with the big weight but was able to pick up and loom along the fence. I think we’ll see a similar scenario unfold here and this looks a lower race with a few question marks around how some of the opposition are going.