Flemington Racing Tips for November 9 - Targeting the big Group 1 races on Champions Day at Flemington

We have the best bets picked out from across the day with value selections for Flemington Racecourse.

Hard not to impressed with Bella Nipotina’s recent form, but I’m not fully confident due to her record at this track and distance. Looking beyond the obvious, and Bellatrix Star could be a good option against the older horses. She’s been in great form recently and should have finished closer in the Coolmore Stud Stakes if not for being held up at a crucial point, before finishing with the fastest last 200m. The daughter of Star Witness drops 3.5kg from that effort and has drawn a good barrier. She’ll be able to sit just off a solid pace and will have every chance to finish strongly.

It’s a tough, wide-open race, with several horses having had four or more runs this preparation, including a few who have been through some Grand Finals. Broadsiding, on the other hand, comes in relatively fresh, with his Cox Plate run being just the third of his current campaign. The Godolphin runner has had four starts over 1600m, winning three of them, with his only defeat coming in the Caulfield Guineas, where it was hard to make ground on the day. We have to trust the Cox Plate form, and the weight-for-age championship has always been a reliable reference for this race. The stable has a strong history in this event, having won it previously with Best Of Days when it was still known as the Cantala Stakes, dropping back from 2000m. Michael Dee will ride, and although he’ll likely settle back from the barrier, the pace should be solid, and Flemington should suit this three-year-old well.

Impossible to go past Via Sistina. The facts speak for themselves—she's the one to beat. The daughter of Fastnet Rock has drawn ideally in barrier 4, and top jockey James McDonald retains the ride. I don't foresee any surprises in the race, with Deny Knowledge, Duke De Sessa, Eliyass, and Royal Champion among the horses that will ensure a strong, fast pace. This should create a race dynamic similar to the Cox Plate.

The Flemington carnival concludes with a sprint over the 1100m and Pisanello can go on with the job after scoring emphatically at Warwick Farm over the 1000m on October 23. The Godolphin galloper has clearly come back in good order after being thwarted by some Heavy tracks at his last prepration. He was close behind Giga Kick in a trial before his return then came home in 21.72 over the last 400m on return to score by more than two lenghts. This is a slight step up but there shouldnt be too much pressure up front and if James McDonald can stay within striking distance early on, the four-year-old can swallow them up.