Flemington Racing Tips for January 11- Xarpo to make it a hat-trick of wins in the opener at Flemington

We have the best bets picked from across the meeting with a Best Bet and other value selections for Flemington racetrack.

Xarpo can make it a hat-trick of wins when she steps out in the opener. The Simon Zahra-trained filly ran on at her first two starts then relished the step to the 1400m at Cranbourne on December 13, claiming her Maiden by five lengths, with a couple of the beaten brigade coming out and winning at their next start. She then stepped out in BenchMark 70 company at Flemington over the 1400m and settled handy before clearing out to win by two lengths from Seindeel. The only real question mark is that she has been up for a while but she sticks to this grade and went nearly seven lengths faster than standard last time, which is more than four lengths better than what any runner in this race has produced. The 3kg claimer, Ryan Houston, rides and has had some recent success when combining with the stable. 

Taramasour should appreciate the step up to the 2500m in Race 4. The eight-year-old has had three runs this time in and was doing his best work late in a BenchMark 88 on December 28 over the 2000m at Randwick, running on for 4th. He drops in grade for this assignment and produced some excellent runs at Flemington at 2500m and beyond when stepping up in trip at his last campaign, unlucky not to win at the distance before chasing home the likes of Berkshire Breeze and Hit The Road Jack in separate events. This looks easier than a number of his recent starts, while the 2kg claim for Jaylah Kennedy will help his cause. 

This looks to be a winnable race for Enxuto. The four-year-old has had the two runs this time in and caught the eye when resuming with a 3rd at Geelong over the 1321m before stepping to the mile at Flemington and finishing runner-up behind Dream All Day. He enjoyed a bit of a gap on the 3rd placegetter to go 2.4 lengths faster than standard, which is the second best last start figure of any runner. The Robbie Griffiths-trained galloper has scope for improvement third up and was thereabouts, producing some excellent figures in strong races at Flemington last winter.