Horse Racing

While most of the attention at Sandown this Saturday will be on Americain in the Zipping Classic, there is also plenty of excitement building around the three-year-olds facing off in the 2011 Sandown Guineas, so to help you back the winning youngster below the Races.com.au crew have our exclusive Sandown Guineas form guide facts and betting analysis.

Galah is the 2011 Sandown Guineas favourite

There 16 hopefuls engaged in the $350,000 Group 2 Betfair Sandown Guineas (1600m) field this year, meaning there are 16 form lines to study and 16 contenders to consider when looking to lock in your selections at Luxbet.

Which gallopers have the best record at or around the distance? Which horses boast the highest Win and Place rates? Is there one contender that stands out from the pack based on their career statistics?

These are the kinds of questions that not only do the punters ask when getting ready to place their bets, but that the bookies also look to answer when setting the Sandown Guineas odds.

Currently it is the Peter Snowden-trained Galah, a winner of four of their five career starts including three this season that leads the Sandown Guineas betting at our preferred online bookmaker Luxbet.

Galah has been well-backed already in from $3.10 to $3 to score their second Group win and hand Snowden his third Sandown Guineas success in four years.

So can the ultra-consistent Galah salute for the punters on Saturday? Or is there an upset Sandown Guineas result on the cards?

See below for all the interesting and essential Sandown Guineas 2011 field and form guide facts, as well as notes on what the betting history of this late season feature reveals.

2011 Sandown Guineas 2011 Form Guide Analysis & Betting Facts

• Last year’s Sandown Guineas winner Pressday jumped from barrier one with Nash Rawiller aboard; this year #14 Westsouthwest ($71 Luxbet) has drawn the rails and Rawiller is booked to ride #9 Niagara ($10 Luxbet)
• Pressday came off a failed run in the Coolmore Stud Stakes (11^th) and based on this form line #9 Niagara catches the eye as they were last seen running 13^th in the Victoria Derby
• The highest Win Rate by far belongs to the favourite #1 Galah (80%), the next best are then #6 Amah Rock ($10 Luxbet), #7 Mental ($9 Luxbet) and #14 Westsouthwest all with 50%
• There are four horses in the field boasting 100% Place Rates with #1 Galah ($3 Luxbet), #2 Mahisara ($5.50 Luxbet), #6 Amah Rock and #11 Saint Etienne ($21 Luxbet)
• Five horses come off a last-start win with #1 Galah (1600m, Flemington, 29/10/2011), #5 Instinction (1400m, Flemington, 05/11/2011), #13 So Swift (1300m, Hamilton, 31/10/2011), #14 Westsouthwest (1500m, Mornington, 30/10/2011) and #15 King’s Shilling (1600m, Stawell, 28/10/2011)
• #1 Galah is out to become the fourth horse in recent history to take out the Carbine Club Stakes – Sandown Guineas double
• The only horses to have started over the 1600 metres before are #1 Galah (1-1-0-0), #15 King’s Shilling (1-1-0-0), #4 Highly Recommended (1-0-1-0), #8 First Course (2-0-1-0), #9 Niagara (1-1-0-0), #11 Saint Etienne (1-0-0-1) and #13 So Swift (1-0-0-0)
• #10 Covered In Class and #5 Instinction have both run at Sandown before but were unplaced, with #3 Grand Britannia ($26 Luxbet) the only horse to have won here back in November last year
• Barriers 1 – 4 have produced five of the past 10 Sandown Guineas winners; horses drawn in the first four gates this year are #14 Westsouthwest (1), #13 So Swift (2), #11 Saint Etinne (3) and #1 Galah (4)
• Geldings boast the best recent record with six wins in the past decade; there are five geldings engaged this year with #6 Amah Rock ($10 Luxbet), #7 Mental ($9 Luxbet), #10 Covered In Class ($41 Luxbet), #11 Saint Etienne ($21 Luxbet), #13 So Swift ($14 Luxbet) and #14 Westsouthwest ($71 Luxbet)
• The track at Sandown is currently rated a Heavy (8) but is expected to be upgraded to Slow by Saturday; Sandown Guineas hopes with form on Slow ground this year are #1 Galah (2-1-1-0), #2 Mahisara (2-1-0-1), #4 Highly Recommended (2-1-0-0), #7 Mental (1-1-0-0), #8 First Course (2-0-1-1), #9 Niagara (1-1-0-0) and #13 So Swift (2-0-2-0)

Races.com.au will be publishing our insider Sandown Guineas tips shortly so stay tuned.

In the meantime check out the complete odds and betting options available on all of the Sandown races for Saturday at Luxbet.

This is your last chance to enjoy a $500 bonus bet at Luxbet by signing up, depositing and quoting the codeword BONUSBET, so head to Luxbet now and experience a better way to bet!

2011 Sandown Guineas Field & Form Guide

*Form Guide Credit IASbet

Note: All odds quoted are Fixed Win from Luxbet and subject to change