3 minute read

Bendigo's Golden Mile meeting is a belter with a perfect blend of well-performed and promising.

The feature is typically wide open, and we here at the Melbourne Mail were close to siding up with Makram in a strong betting heat, but instead it is overlooked in favour of one that has done punters few favours in Garza Blanca. 

Twice beaten as an odds-on shot in Sydney in his debut prep and again first up last campaign, Garza Blanca went on to lose a couple more at the head of betting and returned this time around with a bit more of the same, even money and rock 'n' rolled at Kembla Grange. There are a trio of wins in among all this carnage though and a couple of those came backed up by a strong rating - strong enough to have sent him around at all these short quotes at which he has disappointed. 

Saturday's jockey, Jamie Mott, is at the other end of the spectrum. 39 wins in 2024 have him a full 10 wins ahead of the market in that time and the best jockey for punters in Victoria at the moment. 

That is not to say that jockeys have been an issue for Garza Blanca but having Mott to make the moves is a positive and one that makes him an easy bet to have at $4.00 in a race where none can match him for established talent - bar one. 

That one is End Assembly who does have a bit of a Johnny Rocker look about him coming down from Queensland with strong ratings, big upside, and for a new yard off a long break. 

It's the long break that we can hold against him, he can be excused for being a touch rusty here and Garza Blanca is good enough to ensure that won't do - as long as he goes... 

The shortlist for each-way plays is fairly long with good depth to most, if not all, of the races. We will stick to the strength and stick to the theme, siding once again with Mott who steers Let'Sbefrankbaby in the fourth and does so with a nice chance at $12 and up. 

Let's be frank, baby: we are probably turning up a run early and a mile is going to prove on the sharp side in the long run. But the positives are great enough to push past that concern at the prices and his fresh run was loaded with latent potenial, rattling home on the Heath off a long break where the gallop would not have set things up for him on the day but may have set him up for the campaign. 

Goldenstatewarrior is the early market elect and he does look well placed in this company having shaped reasonably in Derby trials back home but he too will be better further down the line and Let'sbefrankbaby has the advantage of a recent race start. It is perhaps noteworthy that Let'sbefrankbaby has improved every time he has gone to the races having had a start - eight runs 'in campaign' for eight improved ratings run-to-run. That bodes well. 

THE MELBOURNE MAIL 

Bet Of The Day: Race 6 #7 Garza Blanca @ $4.00 with bet365*

Each Way Play: Race 4 #1 Let'sbefrankbaby @ $13.00 with bet365*

*prices correct as of 2:30pm AEST 11/04

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