Rockhampton betting preview, best bets & odds | Wednesday. 10/5/23
Rockhampton is set to host 12 races on Wednesday night from 7:15PM local time. The feature race on the program is the “Colleen Jackson Memorial Final” which will include the likes of brilliant country sprinters, Dixie Gambles and San Marco. There's plenty of stars such as More Peaches and Ring Me across the card in what is set to be an entertaining night of chasing from the beef capital of Australia.
Best Bet: Grim Madara (Race 4)
Classy chaser Grim Madara has recently been relocated to Rockhampton after having plenty of success in NSW with premiere trainer, Andy Lord where he was a finalist in the 2023 Country Classic just two months ago. Grim Madara has struggled to adjust to his new life in Rockhampton with poor trials leading up to a disappointing Rockhampton Cup tilt where he was held comfortably when finishing sixth beaten a long way. However, the Ken Boody kennel have decided to freshen him up off this effort and he has trialled super heading into a rare run over the 407m. The three-year-old son Fernando Bale started his career with three successive wins over the 350m at Goulburn running slick time in all those efforts. He trialled in the low 23.50s last week over this track and trip and appears to be drawn ideally in box seven with a vacant box inside and a tarty beginner, Burnt Me drawn outside. Expect Grim Madara to roll across, find the top and prove near impossible to run down.
Best Bet
Race 4 – 
Grim Madara (7)
Form: 273176 | Career: 40: 10-11-4 | Trainer: Ken Boody
Next Best: Ninetymile Rocks (Race 10)
Ninetymile Rocks tasted her first defeat in Rockhampton last week but will make amends tonight dropping back to the 407m where she is unbeaten. The highly progressive two-year-old daughter of Fernando Bale recorded three successive wins beating the likes of Max Gambles and Legendary Spyro who are two of the more promising pups in Rockhampton. She was tried over the 510m last week and bumped into a deep field with the likes of Atomic Warren, Walk On Sunshine, Zipping Mork and eventual winner, City Way who won in a slick 29.88. She will be fitter for the run over the longer trip. She draws ideally in box three with two noted speed dogs inside who are set to give her a lovely cart into the race where she can thunder home and score another convincing victory.
Next Best
Race 10 – 
Ninetymile Rocks (3)
Form: 481115 | Career: 13: 3-2-0 | Trainer: Juanita Thompson
Next Best: Princess Azara (Race 1)
Darren Taylor appears to have a firm grip in the opening race on the night and will be looking to open his account with a winner. Princess Azara, a one-year-old bitch out of Barcia Bale x Dutch Audrey faced the starter for the first time last week running 5th being beaten two lengths. She looked to have begun really well before the door closed and she was relegated near the rear. It's hard for any dog to pick themselves up from this position and finish off let alone one on debut and her effort to only get beaten two lengths was fairly impressive. She faces a very similar field tonight and will have to turn the tables on the likes of Hooked On Scotch and Whos Travis. Princess Azara appears very well drawn in the red and has the perfect map to boot. Both Showgirl Kara and Little Hercules drawn outside her are tarty beginners and Hooked On Scotch won't cross to the rails as he likes to use the track. Given she begins as well as she did on debut, she will easily find the rails. With a clean getaway and her run home time of 14.95 on debut, she should be able to run around 24.00 which is good enough to win here.
Next Best
Race 1 – 
Princess Azara (1)
Form: 5 | Career: 1: 0-0-0 | Trainer: Darren Taylor
Next Best: Protagonist (Race 9)
Protagonist heads up the highway, finds himself in a new training camp joining the Thompson team and will be extremely hard to beat in his Rockhampton return. The three-year-old son of Fernando Bale has only recorded the one win in 2023 when running a fair 22.93 over the 395m at Albion Park. Since then, he has raced over the 520m and 600m starts at both Albion Park and Ipswich for little success. A change of scenery, small freshen up and drop in class is just what the doctor ordered. After failing to break his maiden in seven starts to start his career, the team adopted similar tactics, starting him in Rockhampton where he was able to break through with a devastating win in 23.81 running just 0.01 off BON and scoring by upwards of 16 lengths. From the inside draw, Protagonist will look to cut and run. If he can settle anywhere in the top 4 heading down the back he will be picking up his rivals on his way to a big victory.
Next Best
Race 9 – Protagonist (1)
Form: 353765 | Career: 38: 8-6-7 | Trainer: Juanita Thompson
