Raceday focus: Best bets, analysis for Stawell Tuesday

Herald Sun form analyst Brad Waters runs the rule over Tuesday’s card at Stawell.

BEST BET

SOTIRIO (Race 1 No. 11 – $5)

Sotirio raced on the speed and gave a good sight when third to the promising Yulong Defence first-up at Cranbourne. She’ll only be improved for that and is drawn to break through.

NEXT BEST

NAUGHTON (Race 2 No. 9 – $4)

Naughton took a couple of runs to learn his craft in the summer but his last two outings were excellent. He’s had a break since a solid effort at Stawell in March and can return a winner.

MAGIC MURPHY (Race 5 No. 5 – $5)

Magic Murphy has raced consistently in the 2000m distance range in his last four runs and should be hard to hold out at Stawell after another good effort at Echuca. Expect him to be running on hard.

ARGUS (Race 6 No. 1 – $2.25)

Argus is on the short side at $2.25 but he’s capable of notching back-to-back wins after his strong win in similar company at Mornington. He has his share of weight but also has ability.

Trainer Patrick Payne will send the promising gelding Naughton to Stawell on Tuesday. AAP Image: George Salpigtidis.Source:AAP

VALUE BET

COUNT ZERO (Race 5 No. 2 – $8)

The 2020 Jericho Cup winner is way over the odds for his Stawell assignment. He has finished off strongly at both runs this time in and the 3600m won’t be problem for him.

THE JOCKEY

JOSH RICHARDS

Apprentice Josh Richards booted home a winner at Sandown on Sunday and has rides on three terrific chances among his six bookings at Stawell. He rides CRACKING NIGHT (Race 3 No. 1 – $12), PRINCESS TINA (Race 4 No. 14 – $19), COUNT ZERO (Race 5 No. 2 – $8), ARGUS (Race 6 No. 1 – $2.25), LA CROFT (Race 7 No. 6 – $2.30).

THE WEEK AHEAD

Racing returns to the city on Wednesday with a Sandown meeting. Sale will host Thursday’s meeting while the Ballarat Synthetic track holds another card during the day on Friday before Cranbourne races at night. Caulfield will be the scene of next Saturday’s Melbourne meeting while Echuca will hold the provincial card.

Originally published asStawell tips: Sotirio a gift for punters

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