We head to the Northern Rivers of NSW to start the week, for a competitive day of country racing at Grafton.
The meeting has been decimated by no less than 30 scratchings.
After considerable rain across NSW over the past fortnight, the track has come up a Soft 6. The rail is out 6m from the 800m - 400m and out 4.5m for the remainder of the circuit.
Grafton Race 9 Tip #8 Swatch $5.50
This lightly raced mare gets her chance to bounce back to winning form today in what looks an even race.
First-up she was forced to do plenty of work from the wide barrier, before being caught 3-4 wide throughout and finishing 4.8 lengths back in sixth.
She stepped up to the 1206m last start and was stuck behind an unsuitable tempo, which left her over-racing.
She was green in the straight which cost her third place on protest, but we can put this down to the fact she spent plenty of petrol in the early stages of the race.
Trainer Matt Dunn looks to have made the right decision dropping this girl back in distance and has found a race with strong speed. From barrier 4, she'll land on speed and is far more likely to settle in the run.
With a soft run throughout, I think she can produce a sharp enough burst late and be right in the finish.
Grafton Race 10 Tip #10 Bondurant $7.60
I think we've found one who's flying under the radar here and I expect him to be well supported in the betting.
The son of Contributor's maiden win came over 1720m at this track and while today's event is over the 1425m, I think he's ready to produce first-up.
Coming off a 170-day spell, he's been given the ultimate gear-change in a gelding operation and has had two strong trials in preparation.
His first trial came over 890m at Grafton where he showed nice early toe to sit on-pace, before running to the line under his own steam.
He was then given a trip north for a trial on the Gold Coast against some nice types. On that occasion, he showed nice early speed before running the entire straight under a strangle hold.
He'll jump from the inside draw today, which will be a huge advantage from the 1425m start. With the rail out 4.5m in the straight, expect leaders to get a good time of it.
I suspect he's been targeted for a huge first-up run and I expect him to be backed accordingly.