Wednesday, 24 June 2026
No more jumps at this meeting today.
Punty's Punts
Race type: Maiden Plate, 1110m
Map & tempo: Moderate tempo. Extreme Taste and Dominator are the pace losers on the map, but there's enough speed to make this a proper shape race.
Punty read: Extreme Taste is the one they've smashed in, and for good reason, the map is kinder than a Netflix cliffhanger and the jockey/trainer combo looks ready to pounce. Dominator is the smoky with the gear tweak, but the drift says the market isn't fully sold. Artistic Endeavour is the old reliable nuisance who keeps finding a way to run a drum without bloody winning one, while Listen Jani has the inside draw and enough tactical speed to make things awkward. This is the sort of race where the first furlong decides whether you're cheering or swearing into your phone.
Top 3 + Roughie ($20.00 pool)
1. Extreme Taste (No.4) — $2.27 / $1.25 🏆 3RD
Bet $15.00 Win — ✗ Lost, net -$15.00
Prob 40.2% | Place: 66.7% | Value: 1.03x
Why Tongue tie goes on and the market is marching in the right direction. Maps much better than a lot of these and should be finishing over the top if the leaders overcook it.
2. Dominator (No.3) — $3.73 / $1.60 🏆 6TH
Bet $5.00 Place — ✗ Lost, net -$5.00
Prob 24.1% | Place: 63.7% | Value: 0.98x
Why First-time gear can sharpen him up, but the drift is a bit of a red flag. If he settles and gets a crack late, he's right in the mix.
3. Artistic Endeavour (No.1) — $3.52 / $1.42 🏆 WINNER
Bet Tracked
Prob 18.6% | Place: 63.7% | Value: 0.81x
Why Honest as the day is long, but he's one of those mares who keeps knocking on the door without kicking it in. Could fill a hole again.
Roughie: Machtig Havanagila (No.2) — $42.50 / $7.00 🏆 4TH
Bet Tracked
Prob 1.8% | Place: 6.5% | Value: 0.95x
Why Massive price, but the stable has thrown a gear change at it and the market did give it a little sniff. Needs the race to fall apart, but that's the only way this little oddball gets into the story.
Race type: Maiden Plate, 2070m
Map & tempo: Slow tempo. Secret Fenkel should get the run of the race, with Benzino and Hopeful Cause the ones trying to keep the speed honest.
Punty read: This is a proper tactical grind, the kind of race where half the field will be travelling like they've got a fridge on their back. Secret Fenkel looks the obvious anchor, class of the race on raw consistency and the right map. Benzino has been around the block and should tuck in nicely from the draw, while Hopeful Cause is the sneaky improver the market may not have fully caught yet. Clench is the sort of horse that makes you swear because the moment he starts to warm up, the race is nearly over. The wide runs and bad luck excuses tell you there's a bounce-back chance there if the tempo gets muddled.
Top 3 + Roughie ($10.50 pool)
1. Secret Fenkel (No.7) — $1.86 / $1.17 🏆 2ND
Bet $5.00 Win — ✗ Lost, net -$5.00
Prob 47.5% | Place: 95.0% | Value: 1.05x
Why He's the horse they have to beat and maps like a dream in a race where the tempo looks sleepy. Hard to see him not getting every chance.
2. Benzino (No.1) — $3.83 / $1.35 🏆 WINNER
Bet $4.00 Place — ✓ Won, net +$1.40
Prob 19.3% | Place: 66.7% | Value: 0.88x
Why Winkers off and a handy draw, he looks the type to sit there and grind into the money without having to do anything heroic.
3. Hopeful Cause (No.4) — $7.25 / $1.85 🏆 3RD
Bet $1.50 Place — ✓ Won, net +$1.65
Prob 17.0% | Place: 58.7% | Value: 1.58x
Why Last start was encouraging and the map suits. If the race turns into a dogfight late, he's the one you want diving at them.
Roughie: Clench (No.2) — $12.50 / $2.45 🏆 6TH
Bet Tracked
Prob 5.8% | Place: 43.3% | Value: 1.19x
Why The form line is ugly on paper, but the excuses are there and the market move says someone has had a look. If he lands the right trail, he can run a cheeky race at a price.
Race type: Class 3 Handicap, 1110m
Map & tempo: Moderate tempo with a stack of candidates wanting a sit. Braveheart is the fav and should get the perfect setup from barrier 1.
Punty read: Braveheart is the one the bookies are leaning on, and it's easy to see why, the stable knows the job, the draw is a peach, and he's the one with the cleanest map in a race that won't want to hand out much charity. Throw It Back is the fresh horse in the mix with the right sort of profile for a soft day, while Extreme Diamond is the resumer you can never fully trust but can't totally toss either. Thankyou Henry is the roughie with a real "if this thing gets a crack, it could punch you in the face" sort of vibe, especially with the trainer-jockey combo looking sharp. This is one of those races where the winner might be the horse that gets the least grief.
Top 3 + Roughie ($15.00 pool)
1. Braveheart (No.1) — $2.07 / $1.30 🏆 WINNER
Bet $15.00 Win — ✓ Won, net +$16.50
Prob 27.7% | Place: 54.9% | Value: 0.69x
Why Good draw, right prep, right stable, and the sort of horse that can stalk and pounce if the race falls in his lap.
2. Throw It Back (No.8) — $6.35 / $2.70 🏆 6TH
Bet Tracked
Prob 16.8% | Place: 39.9% | Value: 1.27x
Why A real chance — but at $2.70 the place he's not a saver, he's a punt, and that's not a price I insure at. Watching, not betting.
3. Extreme Diamond (No.6) — $5.25 / $2.25 🏆 2ND
Bet Tracked
Prob 16.2% | Place: 33.9% | Value: 1.02x
Why Fresh horse, right sort of class, but the resumption is the query. If he's ready, he's right in the finish.
Roughie: Thankyou Henry (No.4) — $11.50 / $3.80 🏆 7TH
Bet Tracked
Prob 9.8% | Place: 54.9% | Value: 1.35x
Why The excuse line from last start is tidy, the trainer/jockey combo is spicy, and this is the sort of race where a soft run from the middle of the pack can see him lunge into the placings.
Race type: Class 3 Handicap, 1110m
Map & tempo: Moderate tempo. Nepravda, Odessa and Esprit Du Jour look the three key players; Overfull has the pace edge but the weight rise and wide-ish gate make it a bit of a riddle.
Punty read: This one's a proper little knot. Nepravda is the horse with the right profile and a tidy map, but the value lines point hard at Esprit Du Jour and Galpin as the sneaky ones. Overfull is the pace horse with the map edge, and if he gets rolling without burning the candle too early, he can definitely make them chase. Hurricane Lu is the favourite, but the market has shaved him down hard enough that you'd want a good reason to dive in at the current price. The fun part here is that the race shape screams "don't fall asleep", if the leader gets soft sectionals, the swoopers will be on their bikes.
Top 3 + Roughie ($20.00 pool)
1. Nepravda (No.2) — $4.80 / $1.70 🏆 6TH
Bet $12.00 Each Way ($6.00W + $6.00P) — ✗ Lost, net -$12.00
Prob 17.2% | Place: 66.7% | Value: 0.99x
Why Draws to get the right run and is rock-solid enough to be around the money again. This is the horse to keep safe in a race that could get fiddly.
2. Odessa (No.6) — $4.45 / $1.60 🏆 4TH
Bet Tracked
Prob 17.2% | Place: 65.5% | Value: 0.92x
Why The top pick's each-way already covers the place angle here — doubling up is paying twice for the same insurance. Tracked instead.
3. Esprit Du Jour (No.8) — $6.35 / $2.20 🏆 3RD
Bet $8.00 Place — ✓ Won, net +$9.60
Prob 17.1% | Place: 63.7% | Value: 1.30x
Why This is the one I'd trust to finish strongly. The form's there, the stable knows what they're doing, and the price is juicy enough to keep us interested.
Roughie: Overfull (No.1) — $9.90 / $2.60 🏆 8TH
Bet Tracked
Prob 9.5% | Place: 66.7% | Value: 1.13x
Why He's the speed in the race, and if they gift him room early he can pinch it. The issue is the weight and the gate, one bad step and he's under the pump.
Race type: Maiden Plate, 1350m
Map & tempo: Slow tempo with Crash The Party likely settling where he wants it. Yattazou is the main danger with the nice market move, and the rest are praying for a miracle pace collapse.
Punty read: Crash The Party is the obvious horse in the race and the one the market has absolutely gone to town on. When a maiden gets this sort of support and maps to get the right run, you don't get too clever. Yattazou is the value runner I respect, especially with the market support and the sneaky improvement angle. Had It All is the roughie who can blow into the frame if they walk early and then sprint late like he's late for the last train. Weekend Spirit is the sort of horse that could run a place if the others start getting into their own heads, but the drift says the market isn't raging. This is a nice race to take the favourite and keep the wider coverage in the exotics if you want to have a nibble.
Top 3 + Roughie ($16.50 pool)
1. Crash The Party (No.7) — $1.31 / $1.03 🏆 WINNER
Bet $5.00 Win — ✓ Won, net +$1.55
Prob 55.4% | Place: 95.0% | Value: 1.07x
Why The one they've all found, and it's easy to see why, dominant map, dominant market push, and a soft enough race to control.
2. Yattazou (No.12) — $7.40 / $1.60 🏆 7TH
Bet $8.00 Place — ✗ Lost, net -$8.00
Prob 16.1% | Place: 66.7% | Value: 1.05x
Why The money says there's something brewing, and the horse has the sort of profile that can sit midfield and charge late in a race like this.
3. Had It All (No.9) — $24.50 / $3.10 🏆 2ND
Bet $3.50 Place — ✓ Won, net +$17.85
Prob 4.9% | Place: 58.7% | Value: 1.01x
Why Big price, but the last-start excuses were tidy enough and this race might fall apart at the right time for him to run on into a drum.
Roughie: Weekend Spirit (No.5) — $17.00 / $2.50 🏆 4TH
Bet Tracked
Prob 4.8% | Place: 58.7% | Value: 0.96x
Why Gear changes can wake him up, but he needs the race run to suit and a bit of luck. Worth respecting, not worth diving on.
Race type: BM70, 1350m
Map & tempo: Moderate tempo. Lady Lucifer is the fav and should sit somewhere near the action, but Dracena and Heman are the value runners with genuine claims.
Punty read: This is a seriously interesting race because the favourite looks solid, but the value horses are the ones with a bit of juice. Lady Lucifer has the class and a decent enough map, though the weight is a niggle and she's not being handed the race. Heman is the sneaky one I really like, he's got the right profile to grind into it if the tempo is strong enough, and the price is far more forgiving. Dracena is the horse on the upgrade line, the one with the map and the wet-track profile to keep rattling home, while Holy Flash is the one who can fill a hole if the leaders get a bit tired. Aldolfito is the roughie who can lurk and pinch a place if things go pear-shaped up front.
Top 3 + Roughie ($18.50 pool)
1. Lady Lucifer (No.4) — $2.95 / $1.32 🏆 WINNER
Bet $9.50 Win — ✓ Won, net +$18.53
Prob 22.1% | Place: 65.5% | Value: 0.78x
Why Fast enough, fit enough, and the kind of horse the race can revolve around if she gets a clean run. Short enough, yes, but she still looks the one to beat.
2. Heman (No.5) — $8.30 / $2.35 🏆 5TH
Bet Tracked
Prob 13.9% | Place: 63.7% | Value: 1.38x
Why A real chance — but at $2.35 the place he's not a saver, he's a punt, and that's not a price I insure at. Watching, not betting.
3. Dracena (No.6) — $7.30 / $2.10 🏆 6TH
Bet $9.00 Place — ✗ Lost, net -$9.00
Prob 13.9% | Place: 66.7% | Value: 1.21x
Why Maps sweetly, loves the setup, and the last run had enough in it to suggest he's ready to lob right in the finish.
Roughie: Aldolfito (No.3) — $10.00 / $2.70 🏆 2ND
Bet Tracked
Prob 11.1% | Place: 63.7% | Value: 1.32x
Why Can make a case if the tempo gets rolling and the favourites start feeling the pinch. Needs luck, but the path is there.
Race type: BM65, 1660m
Map & tempo: Genuine tempo. Captain Eagle should take them along, and the pressure looks honest enough to give the stalkers every chance.
Punty read: This is the race where the map starts doing cartwheels. Captain Eagle has been smashed in and, with blinkers back on, he's got the right sort of setup to hold the front or sit just off it and get every chance. Black Eyed Blonde is the market's darling now, but the drift says there's at least a little bit of hesitation, which is enough to keep us honest. Run To You looks like the roughie with a lovely closing profile, while Smart Action is the wide one who could ride the tempo if the others overcook it. This is a classic "one of the leaders or the swooper gets the sweeties" race.
Top 3 + Roughie ($16.00 pool)
1. Black Eyed Blonde (No.8) — $4.40 / $1.70 🏆 2ND
Bet $9.50 Each Way ($4.75W + $4.75P) — Cashed, net -$0.95
Prob 22.4% | Place: 65.5% | Value: 1.16x
Why Honest form, a decent enough map, and enough class to keep rolling if the speed is genuine. The market has had a poke, and I can see why.
2. Kundabung (No.2) — $5.50 / $1.90 🏆 4TH
Bet Tracked
Prob 16.0% | Place: 46.3% | Value: 1.03x
Why The top pick's each-way already covers the place angle here — doubling up is paying twice for the same insurance. Tracked instead.
3. Captain Eagle (No.3) — $7.35 / $2.30 🏆 UNPLACED
Bet $6.50 Place — ✗ Lost, net -$6.50
Prob 14.1% | Place: 43.3% | Value: 1.22x
Why The blinkers going back on is the big clue, and with the map looking clean enough he can absolutely go close.
Roughie: Run To You (No.9) — $11.25 / $2.60 🏆 UNPLACED
Bet Tracked
Prob 9.7% | Place: 58.7% | Value: 1.28x
Why He's the sleeper, if the leaders get into a war, he's the one who can come over the top and make the finish look silly.
Race type: Class 1, 1350m
Map & tempo: Genuine tempo. Rough Cause looks the natural leader and the horse to beat, but the rest of the pack has enough angles to make this a proper quaddie breaker.
Punty read: Rough Cause has the map edge and the market has been all over him, which is exactly what you want in the last leg of a sequence, clear speed, clean position, and a bunch of rivals hoping for a mistake. Sequel is a nasty little place chance with the right sort of profile, while Better Not Slip has enough consistency to be a nuisance if he gets the right ride. Opetaia is the roughie with the "market's got this one wrong" look, he's drifting, but the underlying profile says he can hit the line if things get hot up front. Automne Tree and Swag are the ones I'd keep safe in the wider exotics if you're rolling around in the last leg and don't want to be left staring at the ceiling.
Top 3 + Roughie ($22.50 pool)
1. Rough Cause (No.7) — $3.60 / $1.45 🏆 2ND
Bet $14.50 Each Way ($7.25W + $7.25P) — Cashed, net -$3.99
Prob 22.8% | Place: 95.0% | Value: 1.04x
Why Lone-runner vibes, map edge, and a stable/jockey combo that can make the others chase all the way home.
2. Better Not Slip (No.10) — $5.65 / $2.20 🏆 4TH
Bet Tracked
Prob 14.4% | Place: 54.9% | Value: 1.02x
Why The top pick's each-way already covers the place angle here — doubling up is paying twice for the same insurance. Tracked instead.
3. Sequel (No.12) — $5.65 / $2.20 🏆 8TH
Bet $8.00 Place — ✗ Lost, net -$8.00
Prob 14.4% | Place: 43.3% | Value: 1.02x
Why He's got the engine to be in the finish if the race unfolds honestly, and the soft-track profile is enough to keep him onside.
Roughie: Opetaia (No.11) — $13.00 / $3.10 🏆 9TH
Bet Tracked
Prob 6.6% | Place: 43.3% | Value: 1.08x
Why The drift is noisy, but the horse has the sort of late strength that can light up a race if the leaders go too hard.
That's the ticket as I struck it — the legs below are exactly what ran, no rewriting history.
Smart: 4,3,1 / 7,1,4,2 / 1,8,6 / 6,2,8,1 (144 combos x $0.24 = $35.00) -- 24% flexi
That's the ticket as I struck it — the legs below are exactly what ran, no rewriting history.
Smart: 7,12,4 / 4,6,5,3 / 8,2,3,9 / 7,10,12,11,8 (240 combos x $0.08 = $20.00) -- 8% flexi
That's the ticket as I struck it — the legs below are exactly what ran, no rewriting history.
Smart: 1 / 2 / 7 / 4 / 8 / 7 (1 combos x $2.00 = $2.00) -- 200% flexi
The day's multi leans on three win legs across the card.
1 - Secret Fenkel (Race 2, No.7)✗ — $1.86
2 - Crash The Party (Race 5, No.7)✓ Won — $1.31
3 - Rough Cause (Race 8, No.7)✗ — $3.60
Meeting Stats
Selections
Punty's Early Mail
Rightio Loose Units, Doomben's serving up a Soft 6 with the rail shoved out +11m, which is basically the track saying "get on the speed or get stuffed". There's a bit of wind kicking across the course too, so the wide lanes won't be handing out free hugs. This looks like one of those days where the map matters more than the fashion parade, and the punters who can sniff out a good fence-runner or a leader with a clean air pocket are going to be the ones laughing at the bagman later on.
MEET SNAPSHOT
Track: Doomben, 1110m to 2070m card
Rail: +11m Entire
Official going: Soft 6 (expected to play to on-speed runners with cover)
Weather: Mostly sunny, 18°C, humidity 60%, wind 14km/h SSW (watch for the crosswind and a bit of chop for the wide lanes)
Early lane guess: Inside-to-middle lanes with cover; don't trust swoopers to get every favour
Tempo profile: Plenty of races have genuine tempo, but the key is who can hold a spot without burning petrol early
Jockeys to follow:
Ben Thompson, gets across the right races and lands in the sweet spot on the map; a proper clean-hands hoop for these Doomben setups
Ryan Maloney, reads these local races well and keeps the pressure off when the tempo goes honest
Kyle Wilson-Taylor, can thread one through the pack and is dangerous when the map looks messy
Stables to respect:
T J Gollan (5 runners), plenty of live bullets, and he's got horses that map well in the right part of the track
C J Waller (4 runners), always dangerous when there's a bit of class and timing in the prep
Chris & Corey Munce (3 runners), can sneak one through when the race shape falls their way
Punty's take: This meeting has got a proper "speed versus patience" vibe to it. The sprints look like map races, the 1350m/1660m stuff looks like the jockeys will be trying to park in the right lane and save a bit for the last crack, and that Soft 6 under +11m rail usually punishes the silly mugs who want to circle the field three wide like they're in a bloody remake of Mad Max.
The big tell is the market: when it leans hard into a horse and that horse also maps forward, you can usually trust the smoke. But if a runner is short enough and the map looks ugly, that's when you get the old pub trick, everyone nods along, then the horse gets trapped like a bloke in a lift with no phone reception. Races 1, 2, 5 and 8 are where the day can be built; Race 4 and Race 7 are the ones that'll make you sweat through your shirt.
What it means for you: Keep your nerve in the chaos races and let the map do the heavy lifting. Races 1 and 2 look like the sort where the right horse can sit in the first few and kick clear; that's where the money is if you're playing straight or each way. Race 4 is a proper tacky little bastard, good value exists, but you need to be ready to protect your bet. Race 5 gives you a lovely banker in the favourite, but the place angle is alive on the better-priced runners. Then Races 7 and 8 are where the quaddie can go sideways if you're not covered enough, so don't get cute and over-trim the legs just because the favourite looks shiny on paper.
If you're having a go, do it with discipline. Back the ones that map, respect the drifters, and don't go full action hero in the exotics unless the value is there. This is a day for being selective, not for emptying the wallet on every race that looks tasty.