Friday Racing Tips - Cranbourne Racecourse 26/05/23

Friday nights under the lights at Cranbourne continue this week for an ever familiar night in NSW racing. There’s eight races on the card with the usual structure of four maiden races to kick off the card before the rest of the races proceed in Benchmark grade. All of the races will be contested for an equal share of $40k prize money, the track looks good, with a soft 5 on the rating, follow me below as I outline my best betting spots on Cranbourne’s race card for Friday night!

(Note: Odds provided by Playup)

Selections:
#4 - Reactivate (NEXT BEST)  - $5.00
#3 - Kuroshinzo - $2.50
#9 - Tonare - $5.50
#7 - Trust Bill - $5.50

BEST BET - #4 - Reactivate (NEXT BEST)
I am staying away from the early maidens as there are too many runners that have no exposed form that are debuting for big stables and it is not a game I want to play. I like the look of Reactivate for Gerard Moloney who has had a fair few runs this campaign without threatening but I think he looks well set up for this. His last run was very impressive, seemingly making big improvements at Pakenham on the synthetic when he set second in the run and fought hard all run to maintain that second position, not able to get one on the smart winner. Not sure how well the synthetic form will translate here but I think they have him set to run a good race.

THE DANGER - #3 - Kuroshinzo 
Cranbourne, Luke Oliver and Billy Egan are a familiar winning combination and Kuroshinzo is the horse that will follow with this setup for this race. The three year old has had only the two career starts thus far but has shown promise in both. Last time out he set three wide with no cover and about four deep before coming on strongly but was just too far back in the run to get onto the podium there. I think they will ride him more forward from the inside barrier now, and if he’s up top on the turn I can see it being very hard for this field to run him down.

VALUE BET  - #9 - Tonare 
I am putting most of my faith in the above two but if for whatever reason one or both of them don’t fire I think that Tonare looks like a good thing for Paul Kramer and the booking of Zac Spain immediately commands some degree of respect, as he has been absolutely flying this season, one of the best jockeys in the country at the moment. Tonare came here second up last time out and was brilliant at big odds, chasing hard all run over the 1400m to end up third. That should see him a lot fitter and will also be better for the experience at this track now. 

Selections:
#5 - Keevs (BEST BET) - $2.10
#8 - The Negotiator - $1.90
#9 - Whispering Bob - $20.00
#7 - Secret Ambition - $11.00

BEST BET - #5 - Keevs (BEST BET) 
Wow, very keen on this staying contest it should make for a very competitive race between, at the least, the top two choices in this field but I am keen to be with the Rob Blacker trained Keevs who has been working towards this in his three career starts to date. First run saw him debut over the 2000m before going out to the 2520m and 2400m where he stayed in both, one of those was a second placing to Stormy Grey and the two of them gapped the rest there. I think he is a very promising type, Spain has been with him in his last two runs and retains the ride for the third, very keen.

THE DANGER - #8 - The Negotiator 
Obvious danger in this race and current favourite is the Cliff Brown trained The Negotiator who also looks to be a very progressive stayer that has had a solid length campaign without being able to win but he has been coming very close lately, placing in two of his last three and now gets a big jockey upgrade to Ben Allen, has the runs on board, will be hard fit and other than one or two standouts this isn’t an overly strong race. Top chance.

VALUE BET  - #9 - Whispering Bob
My best outside chance in the race is probably Whispering Bob who has placed in five of his fifteen runs and comes into this off a 43 day let up after running 5th at Kilmore last time out over the 2012m on a wet track when far from disgraced, staying well but just hampering in the straight there. Before then nothing had been too flash but not bad either, I think he can run into the placings at big odds and a win wouldn’t totally shock.

Selections:
#10 - Starlea - $5.50
#6 - Smokin' Holly - $3.00
#1 - Dio (ROUGHIE OF THE DAY) - $6.50
#2 - Saorsa - $16.00

BEST BET - #10 - Starlea
Struggling to split the top two selections in this race and for that reason I am going to take the value in Starlea who, at the time of writing this, is $5.50 in most markets. The Matt Ellerton trained four year old had a very promising campaign last time out before just being a bit tired later in the prep and will come to hand quickly here first up after a 19 week break. He ran second went last first up and gets Gaudray on for the ride, not sure where they settle from the outside gate but I think if its anywhere half decent he will be prominent on the turn.

THE DANGER - #6 - Smokin' Holly 
Everyone is pretty high on Smokin’ Holly and I can see why. The Dale Short runner looks very progressive off the back of her previous campaign where she recorded back to back victories and a bunch of placings. She resumed here off a half year spell and paid the price for a slow exit, costing her to fade inside the final 100m for all the recovery effort that was taken during the run. The Pakenham Jumpout prior was very sharp and I suspect we can forgive her for that first up run, if she doesn’t miss the kick this time it will be very hard for these to run her down.

VALUE BET - #1 - Dio (ROUGHIE OF THE DAY)
I am not discounting Dio, a horse I have a lot of time for and that has picked up two wins on the bounce in five runs this campaign and also really should have won on resumption when he was second so make it three wins in five runs (almost). They have given him a seven week let up coming into this which I quite like as I think he will still be fit but will have had solid time to recover from some quick back ups. He maps one of the best here, to find the speed, sit behind the leaders and have something for them on the turn. He never runs a bad race and can’t be counted out here.

Plan on betting on the races this Friday? Betting online is surprisingly simple these days, and our Best Bookmakers area is the simplest way to discover the best online betting sites to follow our expert’s tips.

Playup is my top selection for Racing this week as they are providing some of the best overall fixed odds amongst the Australian bookies at the moment for racing. They are also very generous, often offering a number of racing promotions such as money back in bonus bets for 2nd and 3rd for a selected runner in a race of your choosing. They cover all Australian thoroughbred racing and are quite comprehensive in their international racing markets.

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Additionally, we notify you of any significant scratchings affecting the races as well as any details about the track, notable jockeys to follow, or other factors that we feel are good to know. We will also cover any bonus bet or other promotions that are running that day and even have recommendations for other bets like multi tips, and our daily quaddie.
 
For a more in-depth explanation of horse racing bet types and tips for placing, visit our tips and information page.

Jye McNeil is an accomplished jockey, having won several black type races, including the prestigious 2020 Melbourne Cup aboard Twilight Payment. He has also received the Victoria Racing Club's Champion Jockey Award in two consecutive seasons (2019/20 and 2020/21), underscoring his reputation as one of Victoria's finest jockeys. He is known to perform exceptionally well on major race days, and he has secured a significant number of rides for this weekend's racing at Cranbourne Park Lakeside, I have outlined them all below:

R1 - #2 - El Patroness - $2.45
R3 - #6 - El Patroness - $12.00
R5 - #4 - Toronto Terrier - $6.10
R6 - #x - Stormbolt - $4.80
R7 - #5 - Arizona Activist - $18.00
R8 - #3 - So Si Bon - $4.65
R9 - #13 - Tonneofgrit - $18.00

One of the most significant considerations in picking up multiple winners is the track bias, which favors horses that don’t get too far back in the run at Flemington Racecourse. As a result, horses drawn on the inside have a better chance of performing well compared to those drawn towards the outside. I have factored in this aspect when making my multi bets, taking into account the horses' respective preps and their drawn barrier positions. Follow below for a multi to track over race day!

R2 - #4 - Good And Proper - PLC $$2.20
R3 - #4 - She Dances - PLC $1.45
R5 - #9 - Running By- PLC $1.20

Total Odds = $3.82
$50 Stake = $191.40 Return!

Odds provided by PlayUp, sign up for a new account here to get started.

Our experts have curated a bet type information page which delves into all the different types of exotics betting, check it out for clarification on the different types of exotics betting or just to brush up on your knowledge.

Cranbourne Racecourse Trifecta Tip (R3)

1st: 4, 5
2nd: 3, 4, 5, 6
3rd: 3, 5, 6
$50 stake = 500% flexi

Promotions are traditionally the primary way for punters to create an edge over the bookies, as they can save your cash when your runner fails to win, in the instance of Unibet they often offer 2nd and 3rd money back in bonus bets for a selection of races on the midweek and Provincial racing days. Coupled with their generous odds I have to put them as the top bookie promotion wise at the moment for Australian racing. 

If you are looking for the best promotions this week for Wednesday's racing I wouldn’t look past Unibet, often they offer odds boosts in addition to the money back promotions. Don’t forget to check your account as well for personal offers. 

Promotions often change so make sure you sign up at unibet.com.au to see what promotions are applicable to you and you may even be surprised to find some promotions that weren’t mentioned here!