Pakenham Racing Tips for August 16 – Zorb to fire again on the Synthetic

Here are our best bets from the meeting, which also feature in our daily selections.

Takeko is better than what she showed at Flemington at her most recent start and can be an improver in Race 4, which sees some handy types in action in a BenchMark 78. The Grahame Begg mare has had three runs in Saturday grade at her current preparation and led at a suicidal tempo over the 1400m at headquarters on August 1, going nearly 11 lengths faster than standard until the 600m mark before fading. This looks easier and it is worth noting that the daughter of Saxon Warrior has trialled well on the Pakenham Synthetic in the past, while the drop to the 1200m will suit. 

Zorb might be well worth sticking with in the final race of the day. The four-year-old hadnt done huge amounts in his first 10 starts, winning a Maiden at Kilmore last year, while battling in a number of other runs. But he looked right at home when racing on a Synthetic surface for the first time at Ballarat when resuming on August 6 over the 1500m, edging out Life Sentence by half a length, despite being posted wide no cover throughout. The Archie Alexander-trained galloper ran solid time in the process, going three lengths faster than standard benchmark, which is nearly seven lengths better than the next best last start figures of any runner. He will strip fitter at his second run back and should enjoy a nice time of it from barrier 5.