Saturday Racing Tips Gold Coast 11/01/25

Gold Coast are in action on Saturday, just in time for their big two-year-old contest, the Magic Millions 2yo Classic. It is arguably the highlight of the year at the track and the big fields on offer mean that the betting sites are going to see plenty of business as punters try to find a bit of value. We have our $17 roughie of the day running in the big one which looks more open than it did last year.

(Note: Odds provided by bet365)

Selections:
#5 Belvedere Boys (BEST BET) - $4.20
#4 Miss Joelene - $5.00
#2 Sky Lab - $12.00
#11 Encoder - $6.50

BEST BET - #5 Belvedere Boys - (BEST BET)
The winner of six of his 13 career starts, he has taken his form to a new level since he has stepped up to 2000m or further. He tore apart the Country Classic at Rosehill in the first of those before following up in the Magic Millions Shoot Out at Eagle Farm at the end of December. He is up another 100m in distance here but he will get plenty of cover in this big field which will help his come-from-behind style. His last two wins have come on a Soft 7 and then a Good 3 surface so he is very adaptable in regard to the ground. Still relatively lightly-raced for his age so could well have a little more to come.

THE DANGER - #4 Miss Joelene
An impressive winner in the Wave at Sunshine Coast last time out. Her run can be marked up given that she was trapped wide with very little cover for a lot of that race. She still managed to find enough to get her head in front close to the line. She steps up to this sort of distance now from that 1800m contest but given the way she finished off her race at Sunshine Coast, it does not look like it will be an issue for her. A fascinating runner.

VALUE BET - #2 Sky Lab
The seven-year-old is one of the more exposed in the contest. He is also not the most consistent type but he has bits of form that would make him a very dangerous rival if he can find his best. First and foremost, he was the winner of this race in 2023 so he has been here and done it. It could be that this has been the target that connections have been working towards with him. He wears blinkers for the first time which could also spark him back to form.

Selections:
#6 Icarian Dream - $7.00
#2 Gallo Nero - $6.50
#12 The Playwright (ROUGHIE OF THE DAY) - $17.00
#10 Invincible Woman - $6.50

BEST BET - #6 Icarian Dream
Always a hugely competitive contest but this filly was a very impressive winner in the BJ Mclachlan at Eagle Farm just before Christmas. She has a very wide barrier to overcome here in 21 but that is what has made her the price that she is. On the bare form of that Eagle Farm win, she should be a short-priced favourite for this contest and with a single-figure draw, she would be. She was drawn wide enough last time and overcame that with ease, a very impressive winner.

THE DANGER - #2 Gallo Nero
Behind both The Playwright and Icarian Dream on his debut, he stepped up on that to win on his second start at Randwick. Both of those came on soft ground so he has no issues with these conditions and that form ties in with a pair who we believe are leading contenders for this contest. Has a nice single-figure barrier to work from early which should allow him to take a position just off the lead, no surprise if he is right in the mix when they cross the line.

VALUE BET - #12 The Playwright
Pushed up to lead in the BJ Mclachlan, she was still in there fighting in the final 200m, just losing second in the final stride. She is drawn in barrier eight here so should be able to move across on the lead and claim the rail if that is the way that Blake Shinn wants to head with her. While she is going to have to run the race of her life to reverse that form with Icarian Dream, she has fared much better in the draw and that looks like the strongest form line coming into this race. As such, she is probably a touch overpriced.

Selections:
#6 Snitzanova (NEXT BEST) - $6.00
#1 Bittercreek - $13.00
#2 Give Me Space - $13.00
#18 Tuileries - $8.00

BEST BET - #6 Snitzanova
A perfect 3/3 since making her debut, saluting in both a Group 3 and a Group 2 already. She is back down into a Listed contest here. Wins on good and heavy ground shows that she is not ground dependent and that level of form in group races means that she sets a solid standard in this field. The drop down to 1400m from 1600m is probably not ideal but in this big field, they are probably going to go hard enough that she will not have an issue in that regard.

THE DANGER - #1 Bittercreek
Highly tried back in the spring, he was given Group 1 assignments in the Coolmore Stud and Rupert Clarke. He finished 8th and 7th in those two starts but he was far from disgraced on either occasion. On the second of those, his finishing speed was well noted and it was not a surprise to see him run better when stepped up to 1600m in the Group 2 that Snitzanova won last time out at Caulfield. He came from further back than his re-opposing rival that day so is another for whom the drop back to 1400m might not be ideal but the class of form that he has shown demands respect.

VALUE BET - #2 Give Me Space
He has a wide barrier in 21 and that is adding plenty more to his price than he really should be. He is a hold-up runner so Luke Dempsey should not have an issue to get him in and over. Of course, that means that he is going to have to get plenty of luck in running, waiting for the gaps to open. He has finished off his races strongly over shorter distances so this step up to 1400m is going to be a big plus for him. Dempsey is a perfect 2/2 on him so they clearly get on well as a partnership, he just might not want the ground to get any softer.

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On board two of our three selections, we are hoping that it is going to be a great trip to the Gold Coast for Blake Shinn. The majority of his rides at the weekend are single-figure odds with the horse racing bookmakers so they are clearly expecting him to be up close with his book of rides.

R1 - #8 - Innervisions - $9.00
R2 - #6 - Quade - $7.50
R3 - #4 - Exceloquent - $4.80
R4 - #5 - Belvedere Boys - $4.20
R6 - #6 - Hard To Say - $5.00
R7 - #12 - The Playwright - $17.00
R8 - #1 - Bittercreek - $13.00
R9 - #3 - Chrysaor - $21.00
R10 - #6 - Boom Torque - $4.60

It is a hugely competitive card at Gold Coast on Saturday. In an ideal world, we would have seen how the track was running last Saturday but the damage to the turf cost us that chance.

R4 - #5 - Belvedere Boys - PLC $1.90
R7 - #12 - The Playwright - PLC $4.40
R8 - #6 - Snitzanova - PLC $2.60

Total Odds = $21.74
$50 Stake = $1,086.80 Return!

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Gold Coast Racecourse Trifecta Tip (R4)

1st: 2, 4, 5, 11
2nd: 2, 4, 5, 11
3rd: 2, 4, 5, 11
$50 stake = 208% flexi