Four elite level races headline Day 1 of The Championships at Royal Randwick on Saturday including the Group 1 $3 million TJ Smith Stakes (1200m), and below we have our insider tips and exotic racing selections on the sprint classic.

The Peter Moody-trained I Wish I Win presents as a danger in 2023 TJ Smith Stakes betting this Saturday in Sydney. Photo: Steve Hart.

A star-studded field of the autumn’s best short-distance runners faces off in this year’s TJ Smith Stakes with betting at Ladbrokes.com.au led by the spring’s The Everest winning three-year-old Giga Kick.

So, will Giga Kick ($4.20) return to winning form or can Chris Waller‘s stable stalwart Nature Strip ($5) make history winning the TJ Smith Stakes for the fourth year on the trot?

Throw into the mix Godolphin‘s last start Group 1 Newmarket Handicap winning filly In Secret ($5.50) and Peter Moody‘s $10 million Golden Eagle winner from the spring I Wish I Win ($9) coming off a third in the same Melbourne lead-up, and we’ve got a genuine TJ Smith Stakes on our hands!

Check out our exclusive TJ Smith Stakes 2023 best bets below before heading to Ladbrokes.com.au to lock in your selections.

• The Favourite: #10 Giga Kick ($4.20 at time of publish) – BET NOW

The money is solid for the Clayton Douglas-trained three-year-old Giga Kick who returns to the track and trip of his $15 million The Everest success last spring. He’s accounted for plenty of these sprinters before and gets the chance to do so again second-up off a nice return running third in the Group 2 Challenge Stakes (1000m). He will relish the extra furlong here, is fitter for the run and gets a charmed run from barrier nine with Zac Purton coming aboard for the ride. Natural improvement now, Purton will have him closer in the run and he should prove a hard to beat favourite.

• The Danger: #6  I Wish I Win ($9.50 at time of publish) – BET NOW

Great price on offer for Peter Moody’s class four-year-old who is third-up and set to peak here in a great edition of the TJ. He is yet to race at Randwick, but is proven the Sydney way defeating Fangirl at Rosehill in the $10 million The Golden Eagle (1500m) last prep. Moody has him set as a sprinter now opting to bypass The All-Star Mile for this. Two runs in two very nice sprint races in Melbourne for two placings already this prep. Fresh he was a quarter-length off Coolangatta in the Group 1 Black Caviar Lightning (1000m) showing he wouldn’t find these distances too sharp. Second-up third in the Group 1 Newmarket Handicap (1200m) also run down the straight 1.2 lengths off In Secret (who also travels to Sydney on Saturday for this). Carted 56.5kg there and is up to 58.5kg at WFA with a wide alley, but still think with improvement to come he’s a danger at a backable price.

• Best Roughie: #13 Passive Aggressive ($15 at time of publish) – BET NOW

So many horses in good form to consider, but at the price Passive Aggressive could be a standout for value forgotten by the punters. Grahame Begg’s four-year-old Fastnet Rock mare was a narrow winner off a lengthy let-up defeating a few of these including the favourite Giga Kick in the Group 2 Challenge Stakes (1000m). This is tougher up to 1200m without another run in between, but she goes best kept fresh and will get a charmed run from barrier six. Same weight. She is two-from-three at the six furlongs and being so lightly raced cannot be discounted.