There are a number of meetings set to take place on Wednesday, with the most valuable race of the day the Group 3 Bendigo Cup at Bendigo.
Whisky On The Hill @ 6.00
Yellow Sam @ 4.00
Balance Play @ 5.00
The previously mentioned Group 3 Bendigo Cup comes up as the seventh race on a nine-race card.
Harry Eustace’s UK-raider Sea King is expected to feature towards the head of the market, having demonstrated solid handicap form in Europe this year.
The six-year-old has won twice from five starts in 2024, with one of his two defeats coming at the prestigious Royal Ascot meeting in June.
Sea King followed up that 14th-place finish by winning over 2615m on a firm 2 track at Ayr in July.
The gelding registered a sixth in the 2816m Ebor Handicap held on quick ground at York in August and is set to make his first start for Eustace here.
Former European galloper WHISKY ON THE HILL is preferred in this event however, with the gelding having shown improvement since stepping up in distance.
A three time winner over 2012m and 2414m in Ireland, the five-year-old broke through for his first southern hemisphere win when triumphing at Caulfield last month.
Whisky On The Hill came home half-a-length clear of his rivals when contesting a 2000m Benchmark 78 handicap held on a good 4 track that day.
The gelding encountered similar underfoot conditions when following up in a 2400m Benchmark 84 handicap at the same venue two weeks ago.
Ethan Brown, on board last time out, is again set to ride and with further improvement expected, the son of Ribchester looks up to registering his first win at Group 3 level.
The concluding race on the Bendigo card is Heat 8 of the bet365 MCC Country Series, a 1400m Benchmark 78 handicap contest.
Easy Dun was tried at Listed and Group level in Brisbane following a good second when contesting the Morphettville Guineas in March.
The four-year-old acquitted himself well in the second of his two Brisbane efforts, finishing three-lengths fifth in the Group 2 Queensland Guineas.
The gelding raced over 1600m on a soft 5 track at Eagle Farm that day and he returned from a break with a third in a 1400m contest at Ballarat just under two weeks ago.
While Andrew Noblet’s Easy Dun gets in off a nice low weight here, preference is for YELLOW SAM whose second win this year came in a Hobart Group 3 contest in February.
The five-year-old finished fourth twice subsequently, including when contesting the Listed Wangoom Handicap at Warrnambool at the start of May.
This mare returned to action with a ninth place finish in the 1200m Group 3 Senet Northwood Plume Stakes over 1200m at Caulfield earlier this month.
The daughter of Ready For Victory jumped at $26 that day and she boasts an impressive two wins from three starts when racing second up.
Lindsey Smith’s mare is getting a marked drop in grade here and, jumping from barrier seven, looks capable of recording the sixth win of her career.
In Sydney they are set to race on the Kensington track at Randwick, with the fourth race on the card an 1800m Benchmark 88 handicap set to take place on a good 4 track.
Gai Waterhouse & Adrian Bott are set to saddle BALANCE PLAY here, with the five-year-old having demonstrated strong form in winning three times in the UK last year.
The gelding made his first start in over a year, when debuting for the Waterhouse/Bott team in a 1600m Benchmark 88 handicap at Warwick Farm two weeks ago.
Balance Play raced from the front that day, prior to fading to be beaten just over four-and-a-half-lengths on a soft 5 track.
The son of Lope De Vega should be fitter for that effort and, stepping up in distance, he is taken to deliver his first southern hemisphere win.