Winx may be the main attraction at Royal Randwick on George Main Stakes Day, but the punters are also in for a treat with a field of the top sprinters doing battle in The Shorts 2017 – betting tips and updated odds for which are detailed below.

Chautauqua is the Races.com.au tip to win The Shorts 2017 first-up at Randwick this weekend on George Main Stakes Day. Photo: Ultimate Racing Photos.

Winx is on show in Race 6 on Saturday chasing her 13^th Group 1 victory in the George Main Stakes, before Race 7 sees a field of The Everest-bound stars face off in the Group 2 $200,000 Bowermans Office Furniture Shorts (1100m).

Sitting top of The Shorts odds at Ladbrokes.com.au at $2.25 and firming is the latest horse to secure a spot in the $10 million The Everest (1200m) on October 14, Redzel.

Prepared by Peter & Paul Snowden, the in-form Snitzel five-year-old has won his past three starts including Brisbane’s Group 1 Doomben 10,000 (1200m) in the winter.

First-up the gelding was very impressive under 60kg winning the Group 3 Concorde Stakes (1000m) by two lengths.

The extra 100m on Saturday will work in his favour, as will the notable drop back in weight to 58kg with Hugh Bowman booked for the ride.

The other top fancies in The Shorts betting this Sydney Spring Racing Carnival are two other confirmed The Everest horses, Chautauqua ($3.80) and English ($4) who are both first-up.

Hawkes Racing’s $8.36 million earner Chautauqua is back and ready to make an immediate impact fresh, the ‘Grey Flash’ having won five of his eight previous first-up runs.

English represents the Tulloch Lodge stable of Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott, the classy mare with form around Chautauqua who she finished a nose off in the Group 1 TJ Smith Stakes (1200m) during the autumn.

So will the best three in betting run The Shorts trifecta or is there value to be found further down the markets from the likes of Ball Of Muscle ($17) or the rails-drawn lightweight Neita ($21) getting in on just 53kg?

1^st

#1 Chautauqua ($3.80)

Think the value definitely lies in this champion sprint star who has freakish ability and the proven first-up record (8-5-1-1). The team are confident the seven-year-old is going as good as ever after a couple of lead-up trials and believe he is ready to fire fresh on Saturday at his pet track (6-3-1-1). He has won over $8.3 million in prize money and is as efficient over this distance (3-2-0-1) as any other. Last seen winning a record third straight TJ Smith Stakes and no doubt he’ll be in the finish.

2^nd

#2 Redzel ($2.35)

Gets the fitness edge over Chautauqua after the excellent all-the-way Concorde Stakes win first-up and he’ll be even better getting up to this distance (9-4-2-1). He is a short-distance specialist and drops in weight; strips fitter and has Bowman in the saddle in another plus. Deserving favourite after a fourth straight win and last start over the 1100m was the late The Galaxy second to stablemate Russian Revolution. Obvious danger to the great grey here.

3^rd

#9 Nieta ($21)

Seeking out a bit of value in the placings, think this mare has a sneaky top three chance in a likely tight finish. The consistent John Thompson-trained daughter of Nicconi obviously doesn’t have the same ability as English, but she was good when third with a kilo more in the Concorde Stakes behind Redzel. Loves Randwick (3-2-0-1) and is also very effective over the 1100m. Is second-up and a genuine place chance at a blowout price.

Whether you’re backing or sacking our insider The Shorts 2017 tips make sure you have access to the best Group racing odds this weekend online at Ladbrokes.com.au.