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SENTrack: Andrew O’Toole’s Monday best bets at Alice Springs (16/06)
Andrew O’Toole • June 16th, 2025 12:00 pm
Racing takes place today, somewhat unusually, on a Monday in the Red Centre, due to the fact that there were no flights to the Alice from Darwin on the scheduled Sunday date of 15 June. Therefore, in order to be able to fly in riders and staff for the fixture, the meeting, as well as the Sunday 29 June racedate, have both been moved a day later. It is a far from ideal situation but unfortunately, we are at the mercy of the monopoly and scheduling of the airlines in the NT!
The 0-64 1100m was divided today, due to there being 19 nominations, and eventually two fields of nine and eight respectively was the result. There are ten riders in attendance today, with a number of visitors from both Darwin and Victoria, as well as the locals, and with 43 acceptors, it looks a decent card of racing. Alice Springs races fortnightly during the next couple of months while Darwin has its weekly pre-Carnival and Carnival racing, so the nominations, on the whole, are pretty good for this time of the year.
The day’s feature is the opener, timed to go at 1.50pm NT time, and although only a five-horse field – one of two on the afternoon – there are some decent gallopers down to do battle in the Gallagher Insurance Brokers Handicap, an open handicap over 1200m.
Topweight Flying Yishu, prepared by Greg Connor and to be ridden by his apprentice Lek Maloney, looks a standout chance in the feature.
He is a very talented sprinter, and his overall record reads 27 starts for nine wins, eight seconds and a third. With Maloney’s 2kg apprentice claim, he will carry just 57kg, a mere 2kg more than his four rivals, and with a second two starts back to Dakota Lee in the Pioneer Sprint and a last-start win here on 20 April, he is without doubt the testing material.
He has won four times and been placed on a further five occasions from 12 starts at the trip, and even though he is first-up for a couple of months, his fresh record is also compelling, with three wins and a third from six first-up attempts. It will come as a surprise if he has his colours lowered in this.
Hardest for Flying Yishu to beat should be Kickatorp, from the Ray Viney team and with Sonja Logan in the saddle. The lightly-raced 6yo is also having his first start this preparation, and actually chased home Flying Yishu and Supreme Attraction when third over 1200m on 1 March at his last raceday start. The winner of six of his 24 starts is a mightily consistent performer, and like Flying Yishu, he has a good first-up record of seven starts, two wins, three seconds and a third. He looks a lock for the multiple bettors.
Beau Factor, after stringing five wins together from August 2024-February 2025, was not at his best during the recent AS Cup Carnival, but his last two efforts have been more like it, producing seconds at Tennant Creek (17 May) behind Throw At Da Stumps and here at Pioneer Park (31 May) when chasing home Chief White Sock. The winner of eight races, Terry Gillett’s grey should again race well from the inside barrier.
Super Sharp, from the Lisa Whittle stable, and Connor’s second string Bold Tropic complete the line-up, and if any of their better performed rivals have an off day, they can certainly pick up some of the stakemoney.
Connor looks in for a decent day at the office – he has leading chances in a number of races such as Luskin Hero and Big Boy in the second, River Frost and Quanapirri Bay in the third, Dependency looks the one to beat in the maiden (Race 4) and he completes his day with La Vesuvius in the fifth and Vitesse Breeze in the last of the half dozen.
The weather in the Red Centre this week has featured lovely, fine days and cool nights. The official forecast for today reads: Sunny. Light winds becoming south easterly 15 to 20 km/h during the day. The temperature is forecast to reach 21 degrees during the day, with a chilly 5 degrees overnight. There is only a 5% chance of any rainfall.
The first race on the six-race card gets underway at 1.50pm (NT time), which is 2.20pm on the eastern seaboard, while the last is timed to go at 4.56pm (NT time), or 5.26pm in New South Wales and Victoria.
BEST BETS
R1 # 1 FLYING YISHUTalented sprinter who never goes a bad race. Was a fine second to Dakota Lee in the Pioneer Sprint on 5 April before beating his rivals over 1100m in an open handicap on 20 April. Has had a break since but has a good fresh record and with Lek Maloney’s 2kg claim, gets in just 2kg about the minimum. Drawn the middle of the five-horse field and should simply be too good for this lot.
R4 # 3 DEPENDENCY19-start maiden who looks to have found the perfect race in which to break her duck. Finished third of five behind Stella Bystarlight in a Benchmark 54 1400m here a fortnight ago, and this is easier. Danielle Hirini takes the mount on the Greg Connor-trained 4yo mare and the 1400m, at which she was placed last time, should be up her alley. It looks a case of now or never!
R6 # 2 MURRAJONG ROADHas been improving with each outing in the Red Centre, and appears to have found a winnable race in this Benchmark 54 1600m. Finished sixth and well beaten in the Tennant Creek Cup over this trip two starts back, and then went a much improved race when third, beaten 2.3 lengths, behind Great Buy and Mi Mijo here on 31 May. In a race with a few chances, Barry Cooke’s 6yo makes most appeal and will be hard to beat.
SELECTIONS
LADBROKES PIONEER PARK (ALICE SPRINGS) – GOODRACE 1 – 1, 2, 3, 5RACE 2 – 3, 1, 2, 7RACE 3 – 2, 5, 1, 3RACE 4 – 3, 5, 1, 2RACE 5 – 3, 2, 4, 1RACE 6 – 2, 1, 4, 5
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