It is a very close Concorde Stakes 2015 betting market in Sydney on Saturday for the short-distance sprint on the Chelmsford Stakes Day program at Royal Randwick Racecourse.

Running as Race 5 at 3:05pm (AEST) this weekend’s $125,000 Group 3 Concorde Stakes (1000m) field is down to just nine starters following the early scratching of the Matthew Dale-trained Fell Swoop who runs in Melbourne at Moonee Valley on Saturday instead.

Of the remaining runners in the sprint feature the narrow favourite and market mover in Concorde Stakes betting at Ladbrokes.com.au is the Joe Pride-trained top weight Ball Of Muscle.

Backed in from $4.60 to $3.20 and drawn a treat in gate three with Glyn Schofield to ride, Pride’s ultra-consistent Dubawi five-year-old carries 59kg as he shoots for his ninth win at his 14^th start.

Last time out the galloper, who is undefeated at Saturday’s track and distance with two previous wins over the 1000m at Moonee Valley, was in Brisbane winning the Group 2 QTC Cup (1200m).

He has subsequently won a Warwick Farm trial late last month with Schofield aboard and event with the hefty weight is considered the one to beat.

Following closely in the Concorde Stakes odds at $3.50 is the flying Shiraz shooting for a fourth consecutive win.

Tony McEvoy’s Zariz six-year-old has won three straight with back-to-back Sydney wins followed by a last start effort at Flemington when narrowly holding off Play Master to take out the Group 3 Aurie’s Star Handicap (1200m) at the start of August.

Lightly raced for his age, Shiraz has won nine of his 14 starts to date and has had just the one previous run at the Randwick track when fifth in late January, beaten just over a length.

The other two top fancies in a tense four-way battle for favouritism are Pride’s 1000m specialist Craftiness ($4) and Group 1 performed Northern Meteor mare Atmospherical ($4.40) who Tommy Berry reunites with here – drawn in barriers five and seven respectively.

So will one of the first four in betting be first over the line on Saturday afternoon or is there more value in tipping an upset Concorde Stakes result this season?

1^st

#7 Craftiness ($4)

Going for the value in Pride’s two starters, in-form hoop Blake Shinn riding this consistent Starcraft gelding who boasts six wins and two seconds from nine starts to date. Three of those victories have been over the 1000m, the five-year-old’s pet distance (4-3-1-0). He ran dead last over 1350m last start in May but will be much improved off a break, runs well fresh (3-2-1-0) and over the 1000m will be very hard to hold out.

2^nd

#1 Ball Of Muscle ($3.20)

Tipping a Pride-trained Concorde Stakes quinella and saying his other always honest runner Ball Of Muscle can run a close second even with the big weight (59kg). Barrier three and Schofield on are both big ticks for this fellow five-year-old who also loves Randwick (2-2-0-0), the 1000m (3-2-1-0) and is undefeated over this Track & Distance (2-2-0-0). Group 2 win in Brisbane last time out, yet to run outside the top two when resuming and won a Warwick Farm trial defeating stablemate Craftiness on August 28. It’ll be a fighting finish.

3^rd

#3 Shiraz ($3.50)

Lead-up form of this Hawkesbury-based six-year-old, who has had only 14 starts to date, is imposing with a trio of wins on the trot including the Group 3 in Melbourne last time out. That was from an inside barrier so will need to improve to handle gate eight but Hugh Bowman will help with that.

See below for the full Concorde Stakes 2015 betting odds courtesy of Ladbrokes.com.au who are offering Best Tote or SP + 20% on your winnings across the Randwick card on Saturday 40 minutes before each race jumps!