Warwick Farm Racing Tips for October 21 – Sir Franklin set for improvement in final race of the day

Here are our best bets from the meeting, which comes on a big day of racing with the Geelong Cup meeting sure to spark plenty of interest in Victoria. 

This looks a suitable assignment for Our Emperor. The Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott-trained colt looked a real prospect when winning on debut at Warwick Farm back in May, leading throughout to score by four lengths. He resumed from a spell in the Group 3 Heritage Stakes (1100m), finishing last of seven behind Blue Door, and wasn't up to them in the Group 2 Roman Consul Stakes (1200m) at his most recent start when eighth behind Satono Glow. The son of Stay Inside drops significantly in grade back to Benchmark 68 company and, despite being beaten at his past two runs, has produced figures of seven and four lengths faster than standard benchmark. Those numbers are comfortably superior to anything his rivals have produced recently. He draws beautifully in barrier three and this looks an excellent opportunity to return to winning ways.

Bruce I Am looks a major player in Race 4. The Joe Pride-trained gelding has had four career starts for a win and two runner-up performances. He resumed at Warwick Farm over 1100m earlier this month, settling just worse than midfield before continuing to work home strongly to finish second behind Fuddy, going four lengths faster than standard benchmark. At his previous preparation, he was runner-up at Wyong and now returns to 1000m, the distance of his sole career victory, which came on debut. He draws perfectly in barrier two and can enjoy the box seat behind likely leader Valley, who may look to cross from out wider. With a split at the right time, he can chalk up his second career win.

Sir Franklin can improve on his last-start effort when he steps out in the final race at Warwick Farm, a Benchmark 72 over 1300m. The five-year-old has an excellent record of four wins and six placings from 12 career starts and comes off a sixth at Rosehill over 1200m, where he drew wide, worked forward to settle around midfield and just tired late. He steps up to 1300m, a distance at which he is unbeaten from one attempt, and should appreciate being third-up. At the same stage of his previous preparation, he improved more than seven lengths on benchmark figures when progressing from a Goulburn win to a placing in $150,000 company, where he was unlucky after being posted wide. He just needs to slot in and find cover here. Keagan Latham takes the ride and strikes at an impressive 29% for the stable, providing a 95% profit on investment.