Saturday's Rosehill meeting sees the return of some gun three-year-old's, as well as quality fillies and mares who are on the hunt for a black type scalp.
The Group 2 Run to the Rose looks the pick of the nine race card, as we see Farnan for the first time since his Golden Slipper triumph. He takes on a crack field featuring the likes of Peltzer, Rothfire and gun colt North Pacific.
There are two more Group races for punters to cash in on including the Theo Marks, where star mare Funstar will be keen to bounce back from a disappointing first-up effort.
The Rosehill track is currently rated a Soft 5 and with light rain forecast for Sydney in the lead up, it looks like we'll be racing on a Soft track.
Expect the best going to be lanes 3-6 in the home straight, with an advantage to those horses racing in the first half of the field.
The Map
Rothfire (2) has drawn well and will go forward, and you can expect Peltzer (3) to closely follow him and possibly lead.
Farnan (6) will head forward, but doesn't have to lead. The inside pace will dictate whether he sits outside the leader, or takes a sit behind the two front runners.
Of the other horses engaged, look for North Pacific (1) and Mamaragan (5) to settle just off the pace with King's Legacy (4) and Ole Kirk (7) following at the rear.
The Favourite
Farnan has opened $2.30 and needs to prove that he is the best three-year-old in the land.
His record is impressive (6:5-0-0), with his one failure coming in the two-year-old Magic Millions where he was slow to recover.
Outside of that race, he doesn't have many chinks in his armour.
He's won twice over the 1200m and better yet, he handles any conditions with 3 of his 5 wins coming on a Soft surface.
The 2020 Golden Slipper winner is the favourite for a reason, and it will take a good one to knock him down.
Analysis and Tips
Farnan $2.30 is the way I want to play here.
Although he is coming into this race first-up, in typical Waterhouse/Bott style he will be forward enough to tackle any race.
Had he drawn closer, he probably would have started in the red. Nonetheless, he is the one to beat.
I wouldn't want to take much shorter than the $2.30 quote in this class of race.
I can't wait to see him return!
The Map
Providing there isn't any notable riding tactic changes for this race, the map looks clear cut.
Look for Fender (11) to cut in from out wide to take up the lead and Special Reward (6) to push up inside him.
Riodini (9) will follow Fender in from the deep draw and sit outside Wild Planet (4), who will be third/fourth on the fence.
The middle does get a bit tricky, but I expect Funstar (5) to get a prime spot.
Tyzone (3) and Signore Fox (7) will definitely settle towards the rear, along with Ranier (8).
The Favourite
Funstar has opened the $3.40 favourite in a skinny edition of the Theo Marks.
She ran-on nicely 3 weeks ago in the Show County, where she wasn't suited by the draw or the distance.
The mare has only had one go at the 1300m, where she was half a length off Yao Dash. Her second-up stats are good, with wins in the Tea Rose and Phar Lap to boot.
Expect natural improvement into this second-up assignment, as she works towards bigger targets further into the preparation.
She will be in the finish, without a doubt.
Analysis and Tips
Funstar $3.40 has come up at better odds here than she did last start, even with a run under her belt.
She will appreciate the kinder draw and the step-up in distance, even though it is only 100m.
Despite all the challenges she faced in that clash, the gun mare ran home the quickest last 600m of the race in 34.16 and the second fastest last 200m in 11.72, beaten only by Probabeel.
Making that effort even more impressive was the fact that race was run at a slow tempo.
She's drawn perfectly in barrier 5 to get the suck run throughout and considering how weak the race appears on paper, she should be able to put these away.
With even luck turning for home, look for her to take over 300m from home and put the race to bed.
For a list of all the tipsters who have posted Rosehill tips for Saturday's racing meet, checkout the dedicated page at theGreatTipOff.com.