Champions Mile Preview and Tips 09/11/24

The Melbourne Cup has come and gone, but the racing action continues with Champions Day at Flemington Racecourse. There are Group One races on Champions Day and there are a whole bunch of quality runners that will be stepping out, so you don’t want to miss all the action!

At Flemington, we see the Champions Mile, the Champions Sprint and the Champions Stakes. Along with those races, there are two key races in Sydney, The Five Diamonds and the Golden Gift. It’s a jam-packed day of quality racing showing just how good the Spring Racing Carnival has become.

You’ll be pleased to know that my Saturday tips have landed here at OnlyRacing. I’ve got tips for all five races mentioned above, but for this article specifically, I’m going through my best bets for the Champions Mile. Strap yourselves in because this might just be the race of the day!

I think you all know what I’m going to say! If there’s a race with Pride Of Jenni in it, she’s going to lead. So, it becomes by how much. If the field lets her get too far ahead, she could very well run away with this. Who is going to keep her accountable out front? New Energy and My Oberon look like the ones who will be trying to make Pride Of Jenni.

It is a very open field at the moment and with PlayUp, Pride Of Jenni is the narrow favourite. Mr Brightside and Antino are on the second line of betting. It’s looking like Mr Brightside will settle just off the pace and Antino will be looking to have one last crack at them coming from near the rear of the field.

Could this be the field of the Spring Racing Carnival? Massive call, I know. But look at who lines up! The market doesn’t know what to do with itself, we have five of the 13 runners listed with odds of $6.50 or less (with PlayUp). There’s a lot of quality and class, but in the end, I’ve sided with Broadsiding, who is going around at odds of $6.50 with PlayUp.

Broadsiding will carry the lowest weight in the race, by far. Just 52kg on his back compared to 59kg or 57kg for the rest of the field. The colt is on the fresher side compared to some of the others in this one and is contesting the race fourth-up. A quality prep so far, all at Group One level, including a win, third and fourth place. Flemington track seems to suit him as well.

For my safe bet, I’ve chosen Antino. We haven’t seen the gelding in about a month, so he comes into this pretty fresh as well. His run last time out was completely dominant, putting his rivals to the sword and winning in the Toorak Handicap by 6.5L. Antino will probably sit near the rear of the field for one last crack at them.

So, as long as the rest of the field doesn’t let Pride Of Jenni have it all her own way, Antino is in for a good race, top three finish at least. Bet365 is currently offering $6.00 for Antino to win the race. The Group One winner has been set up nicely for this one and it wouldn’t surprise me at all if he takes out the win on Saturday.

I get that this is a massively high-quality field, but we are getting $6.50 at the moment with Dabble for Fangirl. That just seems really high to me and there is certainly a lot of value in that price I think. Fangirl is looking really good coming into this and she comes up against Pride Of Jenni once again.

Wouldn’t be surprised if Fangirl settles near the rear of the field and waits patiently for one last crack at Pride Of Jenni down the straight - similar to what Antino might be looking to do. We all know what the multiple Group One winner is capable of and she’s back on a firmer track, so it could prove very challenging to keep her at bay.

I simply cannot believe I’m not adding Pride Of Jenni into my set of tips, but here we are. My danger in the race goes to Mr Brightside. The 1,600m looks to be right in his range and he has a great record in races between 1,400m and 1,600m, so I’m expecting big things from the 7YO on Saturday.

With QuestBet, we are currently getting $6.00 for Mr Brightside to win. The race I’m looking at in particular for Mr Brightside this prep is the Makybe Diva Stakes, which is also run at 1,600m and he beat home Pride Of Jenni as well for good measure. As long as he doesn’t have to do too much work keeping up with Pride Of Jenni early, he’ll be in with a shout.

I couldn’t find a massive roughie for the Champions Mile, so we will all have to settle for Another Wil, who is currently paying $9.00 to win, thanks to Bet Right. Didn’t have the best run two back in the Toorak Handicap, finishing almost 10L off the pace in seventh, but he has had a classic bounce-back performance in The Damien Oliver last time out.

He won The Damien Oliver, which is also run at Flemington, by 1.3L. The 5YO didn’t even have it all his own way either, needing to overcome traffic to get into a position to let rip down the famous straight. Another Wil is yet to place in two attempts at Group One level and this does look like a tough challenge, but based on his last performance, I’m taking a chance.

All my Champions Mile horse racing tips and their odds can be found here:

Bookmaker	Tip	Odds
	Broadsiding (win)	$6.50
	Antino (each-way)	$6.00/$2.25
	Fangirl (place)	$2.35
	Mr Brightside (place)	$2.20
	Another Wil (place)	$2.90