Australian Racing: Judge Jack to lay down the law

There are four meetings scheduled to take place on Monday, including at Wangaratta, where nine races have been carded.

Race 6 Wangaratta

Arizona Activist @ 3.40

Race 2 Bathurst

Judge Jack @ 3.60

Race 5 Tamworth

Aquarter @ 8.50

Activist for Wangaratta success

A good 4 track is expected at Wangaratta with the sixth race of the day an 1170m Benchmark 58 handicap.

Xaphan is expected to prove popular with punters, having won twice last prep, including by just under a length in a 1200m maiden at Donald in June.

Successful on a soft 7 track that day, she followed that effort up with a length third in a Restricted 58 handicap on a soft 5 track at this venue the following month.

Will Gordon, set to ride here, was on board when the filly recorded her second win in taking out a 1200m Restricted 58 handicap at Mildura two weeks later.

The daughter of Hellbent is set to make her first appearance since August and, while she holds obvious claims on form, ARIZONA ACTIVIST is preferred.

Trained by Ben, JD & Will Hayes, the four-year-old boasts a strong first up record, having won on his return to action in two of his three preps to date.

The exception came when beaten two lengths into second in a 1200m maiden at Mornington when debuting in March last year.

Arizona Activist resumed last prep with a one-and-a-half-length victory in a 1200m benchmark 58 handicap at Sale in April.

The gelding raced on a good 3 track on that occasion and subsequently proved he can compete at a higher level registering two top four finishes in Sandown Benchmark 64 events.

This son of Written Tycoon arrives here on the back of a second in a Flemington jumpout and he is taken to resume with a win under apprentice Rose Hammond.

Jack to record Bathurst win

The second race at Bathurst is an 1800m Benchmark 66 handicap expected to take place on a good 4 track.

Darrel Burnet’s Marks Icon has won twice so far in 2024, including when saluting by one-and-a-half-lengths over 2000m at Canberra just under a month ago.

The four-year-old raced on a good 4 track that day, having been beaten two-and-a-half-lengths into fifth in a six runner Goulburn event on a wet track six days earlier.

Louise Day, on board at Canberra, is again set to ride here, however, the lightly-raced JUDGE JACK is the pick.

The sole three-year-old in the field jumped at $1.80 when delivering a three-length victory in a 1200m maiden at Tamworth on his racecourse debut early last month.

While that form could be working out better, that race has produced a winner with the fourth home winning next time.

Judge Jack himself returned to Tamworth for a Benchmark 58 handicap three weeks ago, with the gelding suffering his first defeat in finishing two-and-a-half-lengths second.

The son of Justify again raced on a good 4 track that day and it’s notable that he is bred to appreciate the step up in distance he gets here.

Ellen Hennessy is set to ride for the first time and her mount looks up to delivering a winner for Annabel Neasham & Rob Archibald who boast an 80% strike-rate (4/5) at this venue.

Singleton sprinter to salute at Tamworth

The fifth race at Tamworth is a 1000m Benchmark 82 handicap with AQUARTER taking the eye for the Scott Singleton stable.

The gelding raced exclusively on wet tracks last prep, registering two wins including on a heavy 9 over this distance in a Dubbo Benchmark 66 handicap at the end of June.

However, the sound surface expected here shouldn’t pose any issues, with the five-year-old having won on good going in the past.

Aquarter ended his last prep with a fair fifth of eight when beaten just under three-and-a-half-lengths in a 1000m Benchmark 74 handicap at Muswellbrook in August.

The son of Pluck boasts a strong first up record, having won on his return to action in each of his last two preps with both of those triumphs coming over this distance.

Regular rider Mitch Stapleford takes one-and-a-half-kilograms off the gelding’s back, with the pair taken to record a victory jumping from barrier two.