Australian Pick of the Week for December 18

Race 3 at Warrnambool (Australia A) on Wednesday night is a maiden at special weights for 3-year-olds going seven furlongs around one left-hand turn with a long run down the backstretch. The track designation is Good-4 so it should be favorable to all running preferences. 

#5 Mr Cancun looked okay in a barrier trial back in April but was off until 18 days ago. He debuted here going six furlongs on similar ground, finishing an even second while earning a solid speed rating. The son of Atlante cost AUD$70,000 as a yearling and was well-backed for his debut. With the usual improvement second-time starters show, Mr Cancun should be right there. Trained by Lindsey Smith (16% win percentage), he goes with John Allen, who rode him last out.  

#10 Intellective has had three career starts and they were all good. Two starts back at Warrnambool, she rallied for third going 6 ½ furlongs on a soft course then came back at this distance and rallied for second after being held up at the start. She appears to have been raced into shape by locally based Matthew Williams, who wins at only an 8% rate but now trains multi-millionaire Gailo Chop. Jack Hill picks up the mount.

 #3 High Delta has a sneaky chance against these. He didn’t show much in his barrier trial last month, but took a surprising amount of betting money when making his career debut on December 1. From post 12 in a 13-runner field, he was away slowly but passed eight horses in the stretch. The winner romped and High Delta was only 3 ½ lengths from second. He will stretch out another furlong and could improve enough to fit with these at a decent price. High Delta is trained by Ciaron Maher and David Eustace, and he receives a rider upgrade to Ethan Brown. Son of Toronado would not be a surprise at all.

Dick Powell’s Pick 

Mr Cancun will be tough second time out and should prove best if he gets away from the gate smoothly