Attention Roughie Hunters! We’ve got the best Randwick value plays for Saturday’s All Aged Stakes Day right here!
Man, we came so close but no cigar last week with three of our roughie picks on Day 2 of The Championships running a frustrating fourth! Still, for those that took our Blowout fancies Mostly Cloudy in the Sydney Cup and Lindermann in the Queen Elizabeth at 40/1 in the exotics there may have been a little cushion to soften the blow.
Can we atone this weekend and get in the money with some value runners getting around in the two Group 1s on Easter Saturday at Royal Randwick?
Lucy Henderson’s got your back with her Saturday roughie tips! They could be just the ticket to turn your weekend around and have you celebrating those final Sydney Group 1 winners in style. Check them out below!
Randwick Race 7 (3:00pm) – Group 1 $1 million Champagne Stakes (1600m)
VALUE: 3. BUFFALO ($6.50 at time of publish)
Buffalo looks a lovely value shot at the Gr. 1 Champagne Stakes this weekend. Photo: Bradley Photos.
So many form lines to look through ahead of this year’s Champagne Stakes, but BUFFALO (5) stands out off his excellent run in the Group 1 Inglis Sires’ at the track last time out.
The David Atkins trained Written By gelding broke his maiden status over 1200m at Newcastle two back before going up notably in grade for the 1400m elite level where he was last on the turn and did plenty of work late to get up into third only 0.28 lengths beaten by Vinrock.
He has the upside and, while yet to win over further than six-furlongs, looks like he’ll see out a mile based on what he did last time out.
The track is a Soft (7) at time of publish but the skies are clear, and we’ll likely get an upgrade maybe even into the Good range by race day which suits this galloper.
Jason Collett knows him well and comes back aboard from an ideal gate five draw. In this.
Each Way.
BLOWOUT: 9. SPICY LU ($17 at time of publish)
Jockey Rachel King is riding well and so too is the in-form filly she partners in the Champagne on Saturday, SPICY LU (8).
The unbeaten daughter of Blue Diamond winner Tagaloa is three-from-three heading into this assignment over the Randwick mile up against the boys, and she looks well overs for mine.
She is quickly rising through the grades having only debuted on March 10 when winning over 1200m in a Maiden Plate at Cowra.
Went up to 1400m after that at Albury knocking off an odds-on fancy narrowly and then was excellent over the 1600m proving her potential in the Listed Fernhill Handicap here just last Saturday with King in the saddle.
The winning margin was nearly two lengths for her Black-Type debut and she’s one of the few in this field proven at the distance.
Godolphin’s very good galloper Broadsiding (2024) did the Fernhill / Champagne double last year and there’s potential for this filly to surprise a few as she attempts to repeat the feat.
Full of confidence with plenty of upside, she drops a kilo to 54.5kg for the Group 1 and can finish in the money.
Place.
Randwick Race 8 (3:40pm) – Group 1 $1.5 million All Aged Stakes (1400m)
VALUE: 14. BROADSIDING ($6.50 at time of publish)
Broadsiding lines-up as a winning value hope in Saturday’s Gr. 1 All Aged Stakes. Photo: Bradley Photos.
Interesting to see BROADSIDING (3) drop back in distance, and from 2000m to 1400m he lines-up in the All Aged as a value runner with genuine winning claims for mine.
The classy Godolphin raced colt continues to prove Too Darn Hot as the sire of the season and comes off a win over his own age in the Group 1 Rosehill Guineas. He beat the star filly Aeliana home in that, and she franked the form with her enormous five length win in the ATC Derby.
The 3YOs have a solid record in the All Aged with Giga Kick (2023) the most recent to beat home his older rivals.
Broadsiding is rock-hard fit at the end of his prep off three top two runs, has a strong strike-rate at the distance (4:3-0-1), and always runs well at Randwick (3:2-1-0).
J-Mac stays aboard and drew a treat in gate three. Can win.
Win.
BLOWOUT: 1. ANTINO ($15 at time of publish)
Cannot wait for the return of classy Queenslander ANTINO (1) in a very open edition of the All Aged.
Tony Gollan’s Brissy galloper gets the rails-run for his first-up assignment of the year and presents a great value each way play in the day’s feature with Mark Zahra in the saddle.
The globetrotting Redwood six-year-old’s latest assignment was overseas in the Group 1 Hong Kong mile at Sha Tin last December. The horse finished six lengths back 11th to Voyage Bubble, tested at an international level.
Back down under and ready to atone now ahead of the Brisbane winter majors.
Punters seemingly have forgotten he was a 6.5 length Group 1 Toorak Handicap winner over the Caulfield mile last year, after which he also ran well in the Group 1 Champions Mile at the Melbourne Cup Carnival when a half-length off Mr Brightside at Headquarters with Zahra aboard.
Part of the reason he goes around at this big price is that his only previous Sydney assignment saw him finish well out of the money at Rosehill in the 2023 Five Diamonds race.
He handles the Sydney direction however proven by his strong record in the Queensland races.
While he’s been dominant at a mile, fresh at the 1400m he has previously shown a nice sprinting power and has won first-up in the past.
Haven’t seen him at the races in over four months but happy to take him in the exotics at the price.
Place.
Good luck punters!