A smart field of three-year-old staying types faces off in the 2016 Ladbrokes Classic on Caulfield Cup Day this weekend, betting tips and the latest odds for the showdown found below.
Set to run as Caulfield Race 5 at 2:35pm (AEDT) as part of the huge 10-race line-up, this year’s lucrative $500,000 Group 1 Ladbrokes Classic (2000m) features 14 hopefuls.
The latest Caulfield Classic odds at Ladbrokes.com.au feature just three single-figure hopefuls with the rails-drawn Seaburge the narrow $3.40 favourite.
Kerrin McEvoy jumps aboard in place of Mark Zahra on the Lindsay Park-trained Sebring colt who is on the quick back-up after the brave second at a roughie’s price of $21 in last weekend’s Group 1 Caulfield Guineas (2000m).
Close second elect in Caulfield Ladbrokes Classic betting at $3.90 is Good Standing who is drawn to get a gun run from barrier four, the James Cummings-trained colt also a Caulfield Guineas graduate having run seventh after a luckless run over the mile.
Highlad ($8) in the outside alley with Damien Oliver riding the Kiwi raider rounds out the single-figure hopefuls, while the early Ladbrokes Classic market mover is the Ciaron Maher-trained Throssell ($15 into $10).
So will the best in betting battle it out for the Caulfield Classic win or is there an upset on the cards from the likes of Chris Waller’s UCI Stakes winner at Flemington last start Wine Bush ($16), runner-up in the same 1800m lead-up Rocketeer ($15) for Mick Price or the Team Hawkes-trained Stutt Stakes fourth-placed So You Think colt Inference ($10)?
1st
#1 Seaburge ($3.40)
Not sure if it’ll be a day for the punters, but this favourite can get up based on what he did over the mile in the Guineas last weekend. He’s fit and on the short turnaround, but he would’ve won the Group 1 if it was over this distance. The 2000m should suit, he’s heading towards the VRC Derby (2500m), and he gets the chance to win a lead-up here if he stays out of trouble from the inside alley.
2nd
#4 Wine Bush ($16)
Great price offered on Waller’s High Chaparral colt whose breeding suggests he’ll get the 2000m no worries. The UCI Stakes win over 1800m last start supports that. Hugh Bowman stays on, set weights suits and mid-field draw gives him chances. The Listed victory was against an easier class of field, but definite claims if he handles the tougher company here.
3rd
#6 Inference ($10)
So many livewire chances to fill the placings including this beautifully-bred colt. His sire was a champion and won plenty over this distance, so stepping up from a mile in the Stutt Stakes to the 2000m could see a return to form. He has won three from five, has Dwayne Dunn aboard again and can finish in the money.
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