Banker Marion Belle in everything
Take the Hotel Cipriani, Esteemal double
If form is any indication to go by, TAB favourites should rule the day at Durbanville today. That makes the Pick 6 a tempting bet to take as it looks catchable.
There are some races where you can go extremely light so the suggested bet will only cost you R560 for a full Pick 6.
Marion Belle was a 1-1 hotpot favourite in her latest effort when finishing an uninspiring fourth, beaten 1,55 lengths by Wings Of Honor in a 1200m contest. She will relish the drop in trip when she lines up in Race 6, a FM 72 Handicap over 1000m.
The speedy four-year-old is yet to taste defeat over 1000m and as a result, Brett Crawford’s charge looks a worthy banker in all bets.
She was a comfortable 2.50-length victor over the course and distance in January, justifying 12-10 favouritism. The daughter of Snitzel appears better than her current merit rating of 73. On form, she should have no issue outclassing this sort of field.
Marion Belle jumps from an advantageous No 5 draw, however, she shoulders a heavy 60.5kg – the only chink in her armour.
That is 2kg more than her main threat Gimme Katrina, a filly who is yet to run out of the money in six career outings. Although the ultra-consistent filly is decently drawn at No 4, she was beaten a length into second by Marion Belle in her latest effort.
Therefore, under the current conditions she will find it extremely hard to turn the form around. For Quartet players, float the pair with Jeovana, Royal Chian, Regal Ruby and Trip To Ibiza.
We are likely to survive the third leg – Race 5, a MR 78 Divided Handicap over 1400m with two runners – Hotel Cipriani and Oh Behave.
The former has the best form in the field and showed a lot of guts when holding on gamely to win his last start by a short head. He has run three times over 1400m for a win, a second and a fourth.
Snaith’s charge is well drawn at No 3 and will carry 1.5kg less than Oh Behave. Oh Behave has sparked tremendous improvement, finishing close-up seconds in his last two outings. He has two disadvantages – a wide No 8 draw plus, he has not won a race in 367 days.
Esteemal and Elegancia should get us through the fifth leg - Race 7, but you might need to load in the last leg of the Pick 6.