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By Nick Berney

West Of Africa (Pic: Bradley Photos)

ROYAL RANDWICK – BEST BET: Race 2 # 5 – WEST OF AFRICA

He was restrained from a wide-draw first-up at this track a fortnight ago and got too far back in the run. Moreover, he was blocked for a run for most of the straight but, once clear, he surged to the line and clocked one of the fastest final 200m splits of the meeting. To further the merit of his performance, that race rated highly relative to the day. The colt receives a much more positive race setup, and all key indicators suggest he can only improve. Additionally, he can settle much closer from a kinder draw, has a strong SP profile for this grade, and the rise in distance is ideal. Hard to beat with even luck.

ROYAL RANDWICK – NEXT BEST: Race 3 # 2 – BURRANDANA

Profiles well for this event and expecting sharp improvement second-up. The four-year-old had too much to do first-up when forced into the inferior ground, but to his credit, he made up significant ground and was strong through the line. He will have come on from that effort, and his ratings/sectional suggests he will step off that performance. The Peter Morgan galloper brings strong form lines into this assignment coming through the Country Championships series last campaign, where he raced well against the likes of Bianco Vilano, and I've Bean Tryin'.

ROYAL RANDWICK – SECTIONAL STAR: Race 9 # 11 – IOWNA MERC

Forging of his last start at this track where nothing went right, and he got into an impossible position. The gelding was mathematically out of it, but he still reeled off the fifth fastest final 600m split of the day in 33.82. He can bounce back into the winner's stall, and if he can repeat his figure against Kibou, expect him to be hard to hold out.

NEWCASTLE – PROVINCIAL PICK: Race 4 # 15 – TURBULENT

Resumed at Gosford 16 days ago, and his run had hidden merit after having multiple factors against him. The two-year-old had the blinkers on for the first time but was slightly outpaced over an unsuitable distance, and once he balanced up, he was blocked for a run over the concluding stages. In addition, he went through the line full of energy, and that form reference has since been proven with two subsequent winners. The Michael Freedman trained galloper will be much more suited over 1300m onto a bigger track and can settle closer from the soft draw.

THE B SET PODCAST - WINTER STAKES DAY

Check out 'The B Set' Podcast, where Brodie Nickson and I talk about all things racing including a headline act at Royal Randwick and our best bets 'out wide'.