Flemington plays host to a strong Saturday program this weekend.
The meeting is highlighted by the Listed Andrew Ramsden, where a spot in the Melbourne Cup is up for grabs to the winner.
The track is currently rated a Good 4 and with some rain predicted, participants will be met with a downgraded racing surface.
The rail is out 2m the entire circuit and at this set-up, the track should play fairly, with the wet weather dictating patterns.
Taking a punt on this Nick Ryan 2YO galloper, who is coming off two strong performances to start his racing career.
He started $4.60 favourite in the Vobis Gold Rush race at Bendigo on debut.
This was a race that contained a number of smart types and he was far from disgraced.
At his last start, he ran 5th in the Vobis Showdown at Caulfield.
Although beaten 4 lengths, his run had a lot of merit.
He positioned himself right up on a hot speed and wanted to over-race badly throughout. This was extremely detrimental to his winning chances.
He looked beaten at the top of the straight, but fought back extremely hard through the line.
As a testament to his heart, he actually passed a few tiring horses.
Third up now, and they're applying the blinkers for the first time which can be the winning move.
Maps well from the barrier and can take a sit a touch further back this time.
I get the impression he is also a horse that will appreciate the straight track.
Thought this Phil Stokes runner was excellent when first up.
He ran a very close second to Ceasar at Sandown on the Lakeside, after launching late through the line.
He recorded the third-fastest last 200m split of the entire program, which is super impressive off a fast tempo.
He also ran the fastest 400-200m split of the entire day when improving.
Clearly the horse has returned in excellent order and he only needs to match his last performance to win here.
However, I'm confident the horse will have improved off the fresh run.
He rises to 1400m which will be ideal and with only 52kg on his back.
He maps perfectly midfield from the barrier, and is also undefeated when racing second-up.
Any rain around helps his chances immensely, as the softer track will be to his liking.