The return of the Darren McAuliffe trained Friarfighter creates plenty of interest this weekend and he shapes as the best bet of the day at Belmont on Saturday.
Sent out a long-odds on favourite on debut the son of Blackfriars proved ultra impressive when spacing his rivals at Ascot over 1100m.
Stepping up sharply in grade at his second start he proved quite disappointing when finishing midfield however post race reports indicated that he got his tongue caught over the bit when fading late out of contention.
Sent immediately to the paddock Friarfighter appears to have made good improvement off a break when scoring nicely in a recent barrier trial at Lark Hill.
On best form he rates clear and given his extensive market support at both career starts indicates that there is still plenty more to come as the stable clearly has a big opinion.
Installed a 2-1 chance in early markets has already seen the three-year-old met with early support with the best on offer at present being 7-4.
His main danger Steel Almighty was impressive when saluting at Pinjarra last start however this is a good deal harder and not sure he has the class to match it with Friarfighter.
From the favourable draw he should be able to roll forward and settle up on the speed and prove too good for his rivals in the run home.
We have him rated closer to an even money chance and expect him to firm considerably come race day.
The return of the once talented Ron's Call from an extensive break presents an interesting betting proposition in the fourth race as the Stephen Wolfe trained Tiger Pete appears well over the odds as a result.
Having not been seen since May last year raises plenty of queries regarding Ron's Call's ability to return at his best and if unable to do so then Tiger Pete shapes as a more than fair gamble as they sit equal on career best ratings.
Resuming from a spell in great order here last start when finishing third behind Dueton, Tiger Pete appears set to relish the step up to six furlongs on Saturday and appears extremely well placed at the weights with the aid of Natasha Faithfull's 3kg claim.
The form out of his last start has since proven very strong and really like the way Wolfe has elected to give him three weeks between runs.
Currently installed the 5-2 second favourite shapes as a great betting proposition as we don't have much between the top two in the of the market and given his clear fitness edge we a more than happy to side with him.
While the last race at Belmont will leave many scratching their head trying to sort out the winner we struggle to see how the Stephen Wolfe trained Alvares has been installed favourite.
On raw form he sits five pounds shy of his nearest rival and doesn't even feature in the top five, his victory at Pinjarra was solid last start however he did receive all the favours in front and won't receive the same luxuries here.
Leaning towards Cortona, Helena Miss, Bickerfield and Endless Time as better bets in the final leg of the Quaddie.
BEST FROM THE WEST:
BANKER: Race 2 #2 FRIARFIGHTER @ $2.75
PLAY OF THE DAY: Race 4 #1 TIGER PETE @ $3.50
LAY OF THE DAY: Race 8 #6 ALVARES @ $4.40
