Saturday Racing Tips - Newcastle Racecourse 18/11/23

Ten races at Newcastle tomorrow for The Newcastle Herald Hunter and we see a strong card with the feature of the day being the Herald Hunter in race eight, a 1300m Open race contested for a share of $1m prize money. It should make for a very competitive and exciting edition of Herald Hunter Day and I am keen to get stuck into things so follow me below as I outline my best betting spots for the card below!

(Note: Odds provided by Playup)

Selections:
#3 - Sky Lab (NEXT BEST) - $5.50
#5 - Stroke Of Luck - $7.50
#2 - Stockman - $8.00
#9 - Canberra Legend  - $4.80

BEST BET - #3 - Sky Lab (NEXT BEST) 
I think that Paul Perry’s Sky Lab should be winning this. He last stepped out in the Rosehill Cup a fortnight ago where he was buried deep in the run near last and against the track patten but found the line very well late in the piece when finishing only two lengths away to Wild Planet in a very tight finish. I think he’s flying and back to his home track now he’s the one for me.

THE DANGER - #5 - Stroke Of Luck
Stroke Of Luck also comes out of the Rosehill Cup and has been flying this campaign for John O’Shea. He won at Randwick two back in a strong BM88 contest under Tommy Berry before Lloyd took over for the ride in the Rosehill Cup where he looked the winner until the 50m mark when just being swamped by Wild Planet late on the line. I think he shapes up very well here right at his peak and will be in the finish.

VALUE BET  - #2 - Stockman 
Stockman is approaching his peak as well and I think out to this distance range he will be doing his best work. He’s another that comes through the Rosehill Cup where he was on a quick back up and found the line very sharply behind Wild Planet. He’s the class horse of the field and should be strong here.

Selections:
#3 - Invincible Spy - $5.00
#9 - Until Valhalla - $5.50
#14 - Kind Words (ROUGHIE OF THE DAY) - $12.00
#2 - Influential - $7.50

BEST BET - #3 - Invincible Spy
Invincible Spy fits the profile well for the Waterhouse / Bott stable and will be prominent here undoubtedly. He’s kicked off his career with two wins from two runs after debuting at this course over the 1400m and then going out at Gosford over this distance where he led and won softly in a strong effort. He’ll be approaching hard fitness now and will be prominent here I am confident.

THE DANGER - #9 - Until Valhalla 
Until Valhalla has hardly put a foot wrong in his two career starts for Maher and Eustace to date and gets here at limit weight with King aboard and should be strong here again. He placed in a strong race at the Hawkesbury over the 1100m on debut when very close to winning before stepping out at a midweek Kensington meeting over the 1400m last time out and beating the likes of Mogwai in a dominant affair that saw him lead and give a strong kick in the straight. I think he is a very honest danger in this race.

VALUE BET  - #14 - Kind Words (ROUGHIE OF THE DAY)
Kind Words is locally trained and comes up at a good price here. She got no luck two back when running in the Reginald Allen before stepping out in a Hawkesbury maiden last week and destroying the field there despite stepping out in the Heavy where she isn’t totally suited. She has much more upside than the majority of this field and rates highly here.

Selections:
#6 - Coal Crusher (BEST BET) - $5.50
#14 - Opal Ridge - $8.00
#7 - Rustic Steel - $14.00
#1 - Mazu - $3.30

BEST BET - #6 - Coal Crusher (BEST BET)
Coal Crusher has to rate as the leading contender here. He has been absolutely enormous in his three runs this prep and comes into this fit, with the perfect draw for his run style, at his prime distance and ready to win. He brings the A1 form here coming out of the Giga Kick stakes where he was thundering home in the straight and finished fourth behind Bella Nipotina and co, the best in the country. Only runs well here.

THE DANGER - #14 - Opal Ridge
Opal Ridge should be approaching peak fitness here third up now. He ran a very smart second placing in The Kosciuszko behind Front Page and I thought she would be in for a ripper prep off the back of that but then when stepping out in The Invitation where she didn’t produce her best. She’s third up now and hard fit, if she finds her best she wins this.

VALUE BET - #7 - Rustic Steel
Not entirely sure Rustic Steel wins this but this race has been historically open and he is definitely one for the exotics. He comes off of the Sydney Stakes where he was resuming off of a decent spell and was very strong late behind I Am Me which reads very well. He’s locally trained and I think has been placed with a fair amount of intent in this race. Go close.

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Zac LLoyd has been outstanding and active this season, riding a 16.7% win rate. He’s consistently being booked for Cummings and other top stables and on Easter Monday picked up four wins. He gets a top selection of rides for tomorrow and I have outlined them below.

R2 - #4 - Lipscani - $3.40
R5 - #10 - Bayezid - $5.00
R6 - #1 - Furious - $4.40
R8 - #14 - Hyacinth - $23.00

It’s a big day at Newcastle and there are some real stand out types in a few of these races that I think can take advantage of the front running bias that Newcastle has for the shorter courses especially. I am tipping against a few short priced favourites and as such I have combined my best runners together in a place multi.

Newcastle R8 - #6 - Coal Crusher - PLC $1.90
Newcastle R6 - #3 - Sky Lab - PLC $2.15
Newcastle R7 - #14 - Kind Words - PLC $3.60

Total Odds = $15.00
$50 Stake = $750.00 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.

Newcastle Racecourse Trifecta Tip (R8)
1st: 1, 6, 7, 14
2nd: 1, 6, 7, 14
3rd: 1, 6, 7, 14

$50 stake = 208% flexi

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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!