Daniel Pryor Saturday Horse Racing Tips 1/8/26

A new racing season is officially here and, before anything else, happy birthday to all the thoroughbreds celebrating on the 1st of August!

For me, this is when the excitement really starts to build.

The Spring Carnival is just around the corner, the quality horses begin to return from their winter breaks and every Saturday the racing steps up another level. From now through to the end of November, the action only gets bigger and better.

Flemington opens the new season with a competitive nine-race program headed by the Group 3 Aurie's Star Handicap. It's always a race that produces horses worth following through the spring, and this year's edition looks no different.

The Hayes stable has a powerful hand with War Machine, Arkansaw Kid and Ndola all genuine winning chances.

Star Patrol resumes for Clinton McDonald with the class to make his presence felt fresh, while Royal Insignia looks close to breaking through down the famous Flemington Straight Six after some encouraging recent performances.

Rosehill might not feature any black-type racing this week, but don't underestimate the meeting. There are several deep races where the form should stack up well over the coming weeks, making it a meeting worth following closely.

Here are my best bets from both cards.

 

 

Daniel Pryor's Around The Grounds – Flemington & Rosehill

Flemington

Race 4 – #4 Darkbonee

Darkbonee is the horse with the most upside in the race.

Three solid trials have him ready to fire fresh and while the wide draw isn't ideal, Mark Zahra is the perfect rider to have aboard.

Expect him to settle back before charging home late, and whatever he does here, he'll be a horse worth following through the spring.

Race 6 – #1 Shockletz

Shockletz is easy to forgive for his last-start effort when things simply didn't go to plan on a Heavy track.

The freshen-up suits, the drop back in distance poses no issue and his finishing burst is one of the strongest in this field. If the tempo is genuine, he'll be storming home late.

 

Race 8

#7 Duchess Zou – $4.80

Duchess Zou continues to rise through the grades and has handled every challenge so far. She maps to settle on speed again and gets another opportunity to prove she belongs at this level.

#2 Rise At Dawn – $8.00

Rise At Dawn returned with a strong first-up performance and only needs to reproduce that effort to be right in the finish. Looks one of the better value plays on the program.

#3 Craig – $14.00

Craig represents the knockout chance at double-figure odds. Blake Shinn takes the ride and if the race is run to suit, he'll be charging home over the top of them late.

 

Rosehill

Race 8

#2 Run Harry Run – $3.70

Run Harry Run resumed with victory in the Mildura Cup after six months away and looks capable of going on with the job. The market has found him for good reason.

#7 Williamsburg – $14.00

Williamsburg hasn't won for two years, but this race gives him another genuine opportunity. The more the form is assessed, the more appealing he becomes as an each-way chance at attractive odds.

 

Race 9

#11 Stylish – $5.50

Stylish gets the strong tempo needed to produce her best finish and should be charging home over the final stages.

#12 Althoff – $9.50

Althoff also looks perfectly suited by the expected race shape and has the closing speed to make his presence felt at a nice price.

 

Race 10 – #10 Zouripper

Zouripper gets one of the leading jockeys aboard and drops into a race that should be run to suit.

He performs well in this grade and with a genuine tempo expected, he'll be finishing stronger than most and looks the one they'll have to hold out late.

It all shapes as a fantastic way to kick off another racing season.

 

Good luck, giddy up Punters, and happy birthday to all the Neddys!

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There are loads of tips for today's racing in our Horse Racing Tips market at theGreatTipOff.com.