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By Nick Berney

ROYAL RANDWICK – BEST BET: Race 4 # 8 – WHINCHAT

He went to a new level first-up at Kensington 17 days ago and he smashed the clock doing it on both ends. The gelding led at a fast pace, ran his rivals ragged and showed key attributes. Further, the figure he produced is dominant relative to his rivals in this event; he is proven on rain-affected ground and gets in with no weight. It's worth noting that the gelding has found the leading position four times throughout his career for four wins. In addition, jockey Jay Ford has a strong affiliation with the four-year-old, having ridden him eight times for four wins. Hard to beat.

Thunderlips (Pic: Bradley Photos)

ROYAL RANDWICK – NEXT BEST: Race 10 # 9 – THUNDERLIPS

The three-year-old bounced back into form at Warwick Farm last start and ran slick time to score. He always faced the breeze at a good-even tempo, accelerated hard and maintained a strong finishing speed to the line. The gelding excels on rain-affected ground, and his record/ratings profile supports this. Expect him to roll forward from the inside draw, and all key indicators suggest he can only improve third-up. Additionally, his sectionals suggest the 1400m should pose no issue.

ROYAL RANDWICK – SECTIONAL STAR: Race 9 # 7 – REDSTONE WELL

The Irish import now has a strong platform and is ready to peak third-up. He was honest in his OZ debut in a high-pressure race, and his run had sectional merit last start at this track/distance. Further, he had the pace/bias against, raced a bit keen in the slow pace but ran on strongly into second and ran the fourth fastest final 200m split of the meeting in 11.86. The gelding will appreciate the anticipated genuine tempo; James McDonald rides for the first time, and he can handle all surfaces.

NEWCASTLE – PROVINCIAL PICK: Race 5 # 11 – SHE’S GOT VEUVE

She's a lightly raced filly and represents value in this event. The Chris Waller-trained galloper wasn't suited first-up over an unsuitable distance and around the tight-turning Canterbury track. However, his run was better than the form guide reads, running a slick 600m-200m split, exerting all her energy through that section and then peaking late. She can only step off that performance out to 1600m on a bigger track and has the ability to win this.

All the fields, form and replays for Saturday's Randwick meeting