Saturday Racing Tips Ascot 26/04/25

There is top action in both South and Western Australia this weekend. The racing at Ascot looks like it will be easier to unpick than that at Morphettville so we have decided to take on the betting sites there this week. The Quokka is only in its third year but it has already made quite an impression on the racing scene and that is where we find our best bet of the day.

(Note: Odds provided by bet365)

Best of the Day

Ascot Race 8 -

#1 Overpass

Win: $2.10
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Place: $1.33
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Next Best

Ascot Race 7 -

#8 Yes Queen

Win: $2.50
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Place: $1.50
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Roughie of the Day

Ascot Race 9 -

#11 Searchin’ Roc’s

Win: $21.00
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Place: $5.00
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Ascot Race 7 - Lawn Pride Australia Karrakatta Plate (1200m)

Selections:
#8 Yes Queen (NEXT BEST) - $2.50
#7 Talkanco - $3.60
#11 Snitzalatte - $13.00
#1 Castle Road - $11.00

BEST BET - #8 Yes Queen
A Group 2 full of two-year-old runners who all have better days ahead. None of them more so than this Dion Luciana-trained filly who steps up to 1200m for the first time here. Connections have been trying different tactics on her. She was a close-up second when ridden on the speed in a 1000m Listed race at this track two starts back and then rode her stone-cold last when failing by a few strides to run down the re-opposing Talkanco in the Gimcrack. At least she has shown herself to be versatile and a halfway house ride between those can see her salute at 1200m.

DANGER - #7 Talkanco
As mentioned above, she was in front of Yes Queen in the Gimcrack. She had been behind her the time before over 1000m and like the selection, she shapes as if the step up to 1200m here is going to be a plus for her. There is an extra run of experience compared to her big rival which can be taken as a plus that she has that extra racing or a negative that she is a touch more exposed. Whatever side of the fence you land on, she needs a huge amount of respect here on the form that is in the book.

VALUE BET - #11 Snitzalatte
Comes in with form at a lesser level than the pair above but she is unbeaten in her two starts. They have both come at this track, including over this distance of 1200m. That is a plus point that she has over the big two in here. The negative (with the greatest of respect to Lucy Fiore) is the jockey booking. In both of her wins, she had William Pike in the saddle. The Ascot legend has chosen to ride Yes Queen in preference to this filly and that could be the big difference maker.

Ascot Race 8 - The Kia Quokka (1200m)

Selections:
#1 Overpass (BEST BET) - $2.10
#6 Headwall - $6.50
#3 Western Empire - $7.50
#2 Front Page - $7.50

BEST BET - #1 Overpass
This race was run for the first time in 2023 when Overpass landed the contest for Bjorn Baker. He returned to Ascot in 2024 to win the second renewal of the race and is back once more this year, bidding to keep his record intact as the only horse to win the Quokka. He has also won the last two runnings of the big spring Group 1 over this track and distance, the Winterbottom. This is going to have been the target for him from a long way out and he is going to be hard to beat at a track where he has been perfect so far.

DANGER - #6 Headwall
Has turned himself into a genuine Group 1 sprinter this prep. He always needs some luck in running given his hold-up style but if the gaps come, it is hard to see any of these running home faster. Fourth in the Oakleigh Plate, he was second in the Newmarket and most recently third in the T J Smith. He was behind Overpass in the last of those but he did not get the rub of the green when he was making his run. We put him up as our roughie of the day in the middle of those runs at Flemington so he is very much the one that we most respect against our best bet of the day.

VALUE BET - #3 Western Empire
Things didn't go his way when four lengths behind Overpass in the Winterbottom over this track and distance at the end of November. Followed that up with a comfortable win in the Group 3 Gold Rush, again over this track and distance. Has not been seen since that December run which is not ideal. He has a fair enough record when he first-up so far in his career but would make a little more appeal as a potential winner if he already had a run or two under his belt. Still respected despite that but like Headwall, he needs the cards to fall right with a clear run from the back.

Ascot Race 9 - The Drummond Golf Joey (1200m)

Selections:
#5 Saloon Bar - $4.00
#13 Twain’s Angel - $5.50
#11 Searchin’ Roc’s (ROUGHIE OF THE DAY) - $21.00
#3 Snowdome - $10.00

BEST BET - #5 Saloon Bar
Has a pair of solid fourth-place finishes so far this prep over 1000m and 1100m but is going to appreciate being back up to 1200m for this Listed contest. He was close up in the Group 3 Colonel Reeves at this track in November in a race where Westen Empire was second. If that one runs well in the Quokka, it is a nice form boost for him here. In fact, he is still in the Quokka himself as an emergency reserve but this contest would be much more to his liking and skill level.

DANGER - #13 Twain’s Angel
Was more than three lengths behind Snowdome when they met in the Cyril Flower Stakes over track and distance in early February. She is a kilo and a half better off at the weights for that defeat and she did not manage to get a clean shot at things late on so that can see her reverse those places. A winner since, she has won four of her eight starts over this track and distance so far in her career and has made it into the first three past the post in 12 of her 14 career starts. She is a hugely consistent type who is going to be hard to keep out of the frame.

VALUE BET - #11 Searchin’ Roc’s
It has been a while since she has shown the best of her form but fresh has been a good time to catch her in the past. In seven first-up runs, she has three wins, a second and a third, kicking things off with her first run for the Sharon Taylor stable here. That change of scenery might be a help to her to rediscover her spark, a winner on four of the eight times that she has run at Listed level in the past. Has to be one of the most interesting roughies of the day.

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