Wangaratta Racing Tips for July 31 – Ataegina drops sharply in grade and is the one to beat in Race 6

Here are our best bets from the meeting, which also feature is one of two on Friday in Victoria, complementing a nine-race affair at Geelong.

Independant Lad shapes as an improver in Race 2 of the day at Wang. The late season two-year-old made his debut at Seymour recently and was punched forward after being caught wide early on from the barrier, going at a hectic tempo- seven lengths faster than standard until the 600m. He was gassed at the business end of the 1300m affair but did show plenty of speed early on. The step down to the 1170m looks more suitable and he is likely to enjoy a much softer time of it from barrier 4, where he can take a sit. The Jerome Hunter-trained galloper went four slower than standard at his only run, which is a better figure than what any of his rivals in this race have produced so far, while he will strip fitter. 

Ravens Glow can go close in Race 4. The locally trained galloper from the Ben Brisbourne stables has placed in two of her three career starts and was rock solid when resuming on a Heavy 9 at Seymour recently when 3rd behind Media Puppet. She was just a tad keen early on and will benefit from that run. Second up at her debut prep she went from a 4th at Echuca to an unlucky runner-up at Albury when posted wide no cover the trip. She will look to position up in a midfield spot and will be strong at the end of the 1400m. 

Ataegina should be hard to beat in Race 6. The Luke Oliver-trained mare drops significantly in grade and was ok given the circumstances of her most recent start, which came in BenchMark 78 company at a recent Saturday meeting at Flemington. She was slow out of the blocks and was forced to settle back in a race where they crawled then was keen. She made some ground from the 600m until the 200m before tiring late, going 0.5 lengths faster than standard benchmark, which is more than six lengths better than the next best last start figures of any runner. At her start prior to that, she was a real eye-catcher when just missing out in a photo as the runner-up horse behind Omnic at Bendigo, going a length faster than standard. She hit her straps at a similar stage of her last preparation with a number of top two finishes and should enjoy a nice set up here with Forrest Gump and Foggy Bottom to set up a suitable tempo.