Champions Sprint Preview and Tips 09/11/24

From the Melbourne Cup and the VRC Oaks, we head straight to Champions Day at Flemington Racecourse! It’s going to be an epic Saturday at Flemington, with three Group One races for us racing fans to feast our eyes on, the Champions Sprint, the Champions Stakes and the Champions Mile.

Not to be outdone, there’s some quality racing happening up in Sydney as well, with The Five Diamonds and the Golden Gift both taking centre stage. The Melbourne Cup may be over, but that doesn’t mean the quality racing has stopped, there’s still plenty to get stuck in before the end of the year.

Now is the time to get stuck into my Saturday tips for the Champions Sprint here at OnlyRacing. I also have a set of tips for the other races mentioned above, so if you’re looking for your fill, check those articles out as well. I’ve done all the leg work and have put together my best bets, which you can find here.

A decent enough pace is on the cards for the Champions Sprint in 2024. The likes of Estriella, Overpass and Baraqiel all have fast barrier speed and will look for the lead position. It’s a pretty open field at the moment and Overpass, one of the more favoured runners in the might just might look to lead this one.

The current narrow favourite with PlayUp, Bella Nipotina, won’t be too far off the pace either and will look to find cover, waiting for the best moment to strike. As we see a quality field line up this year, the closing speed is going to be interesting to watch, as most of these are champion sprinters in their own right.

Another race, another open field with many genuine winning chances. They don’t like to make things easier for us tipsters, do they? With such an open field, this one took me a while, but I think Overpass has the goods to get the win here. The gelding is currently on the third line of betting with PlayUp, at odds of $5.50.

I reckon trainer Bjorn Baker has been targeting this race for Overpass, whereas, for others, it might have been a consolation prize. His racing style suits this one and last time out he won the Group Three Sydney Stakes by 1.5L. With some queries around Bella Nipotina, I’m siding with Overpass for the win.

Yes, there are some queries around Bella Nipotina, specifically around her record at this track and trip, but is there anyone more classy than her in this one? While her record isn’t the best, she still oozes quality and can easily take this one out, despite how many high-quality sprinters we have lining up in this one.

At the time of writing, Bella Nipotina is the narrow favourite with odds of $4.40, at Bet365. Gets a wide barrier, but that could work in her favour and it isn’t exactly the biggest of fields either. Jockey Craig Williams will settle her well into the race and give her every chance to claim her third win in a row.

Willing to take a chance on Bellatrix Star, who is up against the older horses here and therefore comes in very light at the weights. The 3YO is set up to carry just 51.5kg on her back, compared to 58.5kg for the top weight. That is a massive advantage and something you can’t simply overlook

I understand there are some classy runners in this one, but we are still getting $12 for her to win the race, thanks to Dabble (at the time of writing). Decent value to be had with Bellatrix Star and last time out we saw her second in the Coolmore Stud Stakes. She should have finished closer to Switzerland but was held up at a vital point. Heaps of potential.

Okay, I’m very excited to see the battle between Giga Kick and Bella Nipotina after the epicness that was The Everest, where the pair finished first and second. I think Giga Kick is set for another good race here and gets my vote as the main danger in the Champions Sprint and he is another genuine winning chance. 

At the time of writing, Giga Kick is on the second line of betting, at $5.25 with QuestBet. Hasn’t tasted victory since May in the Doomben 10,000, but has been there or thereabouts for a while. Has been a bit unlucky in his runs and I think it’s high time his luck changed. Giga Kick to run a stellar race here.

As my best roughie, I couldn’t really go past I Am Unstoppable. Pretty unloved in the market, so we are getting a decent price for him. At Bet Right, you can currently get odds of $23 for I Am Unstoppable to win the race. The recent trainer switch has been a good call and the results speak for themselves.

Since the switch to the Ciaron Maher stable, the stallion has finished second on both occasions, including in the Group Two McEwen Stakes. This is a step up for sure, but he is good enough to finish top three, we saw him finish second in the Coolmore Stud Stakes (in 2023) and he’ll be peaking now, so let's see how the 4YO goes.

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

Bookmaker	Tip	Odds
	Overpass (win)	$5.50
	Bella Nipotina (each-way)	$ $4.40/$1.95
	Bellatrix Star (place)	$3.60
	Giga Kick (place)	$1.92
	I Am Unstoppable (place)	$5.25