The Sir John Monash Stakes is the feature race at Caulfield this weekend on what looks a really interesting off season card.
We are hoping to get in and get the cash early with our best on the card coming up in race three.
Mantastic was well supported here two weeks ago after a very promising Australian debut at Flemington.
He took a nice step forward on that form up to the mile at Caulfield but he just missed his stablemate having been left to make a big run around the field.
The race rated well and his effort to make a surging run around them deserves plenty of credit. It was the run of a horse with plenty of wins in store and 1700m this weekend looks a big chance for him to deliver.
There's a few here tracking well. Another Coldie, Guizot, Divine Mr Artie and Portion Control all come off runs that give them a hope but none of them can boast the upside or ratings substance of Mantastic.
For an each way play we will go back to race one which looks an interesting two-year-old contest.
Humma Humma posted a strong performance at Sandown and looks a good winning hope but we are going to have something each way on Kaipaki who made his debut on the same Sandown card.
He ran in the second 2yo heat that day, and it was significantly slower than Humma Humma, so he has work to do, but he was better than the bare result there, running on as though 1200m would be ideal for him.
He ran clear of his 40-1 SP on the day and he's fancied to run clear of his 20-1 price in early betting ahead of Saturday.
THE MELBOURNE MAIL
Bet Of The Day: Race 3 #14 Mantastic @ $2.70
Each Way Play: Race 1 #3 Kaipaki @ $21.00
