Some moderately interesting Australian races this weekend.  Here are my picks on some selected races.

Race 2A (Randwick) TAB WINNING PLATE OPEN (AUD $85,000 Purse) – 5 furlongs, for 2yo.  9:20 PM EST.

Tonight’s BEST BET – I am unsure how good #1 PRIZED ICON (9/1 ML) really is, but he was a decent third in a ten-horse field to superstar Aussie 2 year old Capitalist.  Switches to Sydney uber-jock Hugh Bowman, who agrees to get to 123 pounds to take the mount.  I am sure Hugh considers Prized Icon a potential Golden Slipper horse (a race for two year olds with a $3.5 million AUD purse).  Expect 4/1 or less at post time.

Race 3B (Moonee Valley) – BM90 (think N3x allowance).  (AUD $80,000 Purse) – 6 furlongs, for 3yo and up.  10:12 EST

#7 HERSTORY (8/1 ML) has tactical speed and the desired rail, and her trainer, the controversial Peter Moody, tends to wins these races at good prices.  Herstory classes up fairly well (14-3-3-3) and is second off the layoff, which is usually a sign of potential improvement.

Race 4A (Randwick) CELLARBRATIONS BM86 (think N2x allowance) (AUD $85,000 Purse) – 6 furlongs, for 3yo and up.  10:30 PM EST.

#9 VOILIER (9/2 ML) is very proven at this level and gets to have one of Sydney’s best jockeys, Kathy O’Hara, for the ride.  Voilier tends to get second place a lot (9-1-4-1) but I expect Kathy to be pretty aggressive with this one carrying only 124 pounds (top weight carries 132 pounds) and post 3.  Definitely a good horse to PLACE BET if you are into that sort of thing.