Eagle Farm Racing Tips for October 10 – Amplify the one to beat in the Queensland Cup

Here are our best bets from the meeting, which is part of a massive day of action from around Australia with Group One racing from Caulfield as well as an excellent programme at Rosehill.

Dark Arts should be hard to beat in Race 3 at Eagle Farm. The Tony Gollan-trained galloper has been a big improver since concentrating on 1200m races, winning towards the end of his previous preparation and racing consistently through three runs this time in. He was posted wide throughout over the track and trip last week but still did a good job to stick on for fifth, beaten just under two lengths, while going a touch faster than standard benchmark. He should now be right at his peak after three runs back and, although barrier 8 presents another challenge, he only needs to find a position with some cover in the early stages to be right in the finish.

Keen on veteran Naval Seal in Race 8 at Eagle Farm after a much-improved performance third-up at the Gold Coast. The Chris Waller-trained eight-year-old settled handy and went desperately close behind Precise Star, producing a figure 3.2 lengths faster than standard benchmark, the best last-start performance of any runner in this race. He has shown a pattern of improving deeper into his preparations and should now have the fitness in the tank at his fourth run back, while his best form tends to come on Good tracks and the return to a firmer surface appeared to contribute to his improvement last start. He should get similar conditions at Eagle Farm and the 1600m suits. He ticks plenty of boxes and looks a solid each-way play.

Amplify should be hard to beat in the Listed Queensland Cup (2400m). The Kris Lees-trained mare has been racing consistently in stronger staying races, finishing third in the DrinkWise Cup (2000m) at Randwick three starts ago before a fourth in the Newcastle Cup (2300m) and a narrow last-start second in the Colin Stephen Quality (2400m) at Rosehill, where she went down by a nose after settling back in the small field and producing the fastest late splits. She went 2.7 lengths faster than standard benchmark last time, the best last-start figure of any runner here, while her Randwick performance three starts ago was around 13 lengths faster than standard. She is rock-hard fit, versatile enough to adapt to how the race is run and should be strong at the end of 2400m. Expect her to be right in the thick of the action at the finish.