2015 Group 3 Christmas Gift free tips and best odds

A TALENTED field of sprinters will line up at Wentworth Park for the running of the Christmas Gift (520 metres) on Saturday night.

The favourite for the $25,000-to-the-winner event is the Jeff Eaton-trained La Grand Logie (box two) at $3 with online bookmaker Sportsbet.

The son of and Oh Em Gee was a dominant winner of his heat last Saturday, leading all the way to record a slick 29.90 victory over Let It Develop ($4.20).

Next best is Knight Sprite ($4.60) which resumed from a one month spell in his heat, defeating Are Jip ($9) by five-and-one-quarter lengths in a smart 30.05.

The son of and Jaydo's Neglect moves to box five for the decider, a draw from which he has one win and one placing from four career starts.

The Group 3 Christmas Gift is race eight on the card and is set to jump at 9:48pm AEDT.

Australian Racing Greyhound has previewed Saturday's feature, with tips and comments from our expert form analyst, Brad Bugeja.

Box One – Morgan Brothers
Black Dog – 28.4kg – January 2013
Lochinvar Marlow x Let's Decide
Prize money: $20,525
Trainer: Keith Selten
Career: 37: 12-8-1
From box: 2 starts: 1 win, 0 placings
T/D: 10: 3-3-1
T/D Best: 30.18
Career Highlights: WON Wentworth Park 30.24, 30.26

“Showing promise and he continues to improve with more racing, however this is a big rise in class for him and he will need to do everything right from box rise. Last week he showed a little more early speed than normal and he was able to settle just off the pace and from there on he was always going to prove hard to stop, however the time of 30.26 is only average and he will need to find plenty to score. Great effort to qualify but I can't see him making an impact.”

Odds to win Xmas Gift: $41 with

Box Two – La Grand Logie
Black Dog – 32.4kg – March 2013
El Grand Senor x Oh Em Gee
Prize money: $88,259
Trainer: Jeff Eaton
Career: 54: 19-9-10
From box: 10 starts: 2 wins, 4 placings
T/D: 27: 9-4-5
T/D Best: 29.73
Career Highlights: 2ND 2015 Group 2 Maitland Cup, 3RD 2015 Group 2 Black Top, FINALIST 2014 Vic Peters, 2015 Group 2 Healesville Cup

“Class act and he appears to be back to his brilliant best. In recent months, he has been showing blistering early speed and he has been hitting the line quite well and last week he showed a lot of guts when scoring in a slick 29.90. The rails draw is a big advantage for him tonight as it should allow him to drive through at the first bend and he should be able to hold the early lead. With two wide runners directly on his outside, he should be able to get away mid race and he will prove hard to reel in. This is the easiest Group Race Final he will ever contest and he should be winning.”

Odds to win Xmas Gift: $3 with Sportsbet

Box Three – Let It Develop
Black Dog – 31.5kg – November 2012
Collision x Neat Irish
Prize money: $77,752
Trainer: Anthony Azzopardi
Career: 78: 20-28-6
From box: 9 starts: 2 wins, 4 placings
T/D: 35: 8-13-2
T/D Best: 29.85
Career Highlights: FINALIST 2015 Derby

“Armed with a dazzling turn of foot and with some luck in the first 20m he should be featuring in the finish. The concern is that he needs room to muster and I don't think he will get it. Two starts back he broke the Goulburn track record with a sizzling 24.34 effort and he beat a class lineup, he then followed that effort up with a great placing behind La Grand Logie here last week. Obviously if he comes out running he is likely to score but I'm happy to risk him in this.”

Odds to win Xmas Gift: $4.20 with William Hill

Box Four – Are Jip
Black Dog – 31.7kg – December 2012
Fabregas x Monique's Doll
Prize money: $57,626
Trainer: Kristy Sultana
Career: 47: 15-6-6
From box: 10 starts: 3 wins, 2 placings
T/D: 29: 9-3-4
T/D Best: 29.48
Career Highlights: FINALIST 2015 Group 2 , 2015 Dapto Derby

“He has always been a mighty talent but he can do a lot of things wrong in his races. He has been missing the kick in recent times and he has been finding a lot of trouble in his races, however he does have the ability to come from off the speed so he is never really out of contention. The middle pin hasn't done him any favours but if he can balance up in the top four as they head to the back straight, he should be there to strike as they near the finish line.”

Odds to win Xmas Gift: $9 with Sportsbet

Box Five – Knight Sprite
Black Dog – 31.7kg – February 2013
Magic Sprite x Jaydo's Neglect
Prize money: $53,013
Trainer: Gayle Masterson
Career: 41: 19-10-3
From box: 4 starts: 1 win, 1 placing
T/D: 24: 7-7-3
T/D Best: 29.72
Career Highlights: WON Wentworth Park 29.72, 29.81, 29.85, 29.87, 29.88, Gosford 29.46, 29.51

“Knight Sprite is a very reliable talent and if he can ping the lids he might have enough speed to cross and if he does that should be the end of the section. He is a different chaser when on the lure and he is capable of running some serious sectionals, my only concern tonight is that he may struggle to cross the two in the run to the first bend. If he gets out to silly odds, he might be worth an investment.”

Odds to win Xmas Gift: $4.60 with Sportsbet

Box Six – Myrniong Plow
Blue Dog – 32.5kg – October 2013
Collision x Gotta Be Fancy
Prize money: $16,103
Trainer: Anthony Azzopardi
Career: 20: 6-2-3
From box: 1 start: 0 wins, 1 placing
T/D: 20: 6-2-3
T/D Best: 10: 3-1-2
Career Highlights: WON Wentworth Park 30.00, 30.06, Bulli 26.38

“Myrniong Plow has a great record here and he is more than capable on his night, however he has come up with the poor draw and he was soundly beaten in his heat last week. He has speed drawn all around him, so I'm expecting him to get squeezed out in the run to the first turn and therefore I don't think he has any genuine winning prospects.”

Odds to win Xmas Gift: $34 with Bet365

Box Seven – Stench Of Power
Black Dog – 32.0kg – June 2013
Coarse Language x Wow Pretty Girl
Prize money: $16,258
Trainer: Robert Arnold
Career: 18: 5-6-3
From box: 1 start: 0 wins, 0 placings
T/D: 13: 1-5-3
T/D Best: 30.11
Career Highlights: WON Wentworth Park 30.62, 29.87, 30.00

“Showing plenty of promise and he has been racing in very consistent style in recent times, however he has struggled to win over this track and trip and this is clearly a big rise in class for him. He isn't blessed with explosive early speed, so he is likely to be posted wide in the initial stages and I can't really see him getting into contention.”

Odds to win Xmas Gift: $51 with William Hill

Box Eight – Leeroy Ruler
Black Dog – 33.6kg – July 2013
Collision x Fantasy Royale
Prize money: $25,793
Trainer: Jeff Crawford
Career: 14: 8-2-1
From box: 0 starts: 0 wins, 0 placings
T/D: 1: 1-0-0
T/D Best: 29.92
Career Highlights: WON Wentworth Park 29.92, Dapto 29.43, Albion Park 29.84

“Exciting talent and if he happened to draw the red he would probably be going around at an odds on quote. Three starts back he scored at Dapto in a breathtaking 29.43 and last week he posted an impressive 29.92 heat win and he was having his first look at the track. He would have derived a lot of benefit from that run and he is capable of going much faster on the clock, however he may find it difficult to get across in the first 50m, so he is going to need a lot of things to go his way in running. Serious talent and he is going to win feature races in the future but I don't like his chances in this.”

Odds to win Xmas Gift: $7 with Bet365

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