Australian racing preview for Royal Randwick

One of the new superstars of Australian racing, Verry Elleegant, will make her return to the track tonight in the Apollo Stakes (G2), over seven furlongs at Royal Randwick.

The Chris Waller-trained mare was the winner of four Group 1 races in 2020, including the Caulfield Cup, where she defeated U.K. star Anthony Van Dyck.

It’s an exciting nine-race card at Randwick, as the good horses commence or continue their campaign to some of the bigger races of Sydney’s Autumn Racing Carnival, and you can watch and wager on it all via the TwinSpires app or at TwinSpires.com.

TwinSpires is also featuring the card as part of its Rest of the World Bet Back promotion, where players can get up to $10 back if the horse you bet to win finishes second.

Here are a couple of my best bets on the card.

Race 2: #12 Headliner

Headliner is a beautifully bred filly (she cost $170,000) from the barn of leading trainer Chris Waller.

She made her debut at Randwick last time out, and considering a few things went against her, I thought it was an exceptional performance. She was a little slow to begin, and during the business end of the race, had nowhere to go for a furlong or so. When she finally saw daylight, she motored home to finish within two lengths of the winner, Stay Inside, who happens to be tonight’s favorite.

With a little bit of weight relief and a better run, Headliner can turn the tables on Stay Inside at attractive morning-line odds of 8-1.

Race 7: #1 Kolding

As much as I am a Verry Ellegant fan, I’m going with Kolding.

Unlike all of his rivals, Kolding has the benefit of one run back from a layoff. It was a solid return, too, when he finished second in the Expressway (G2) over 6 furlongs, and he’ll definitely appreciate the extra furlong tonight. He is also from the Waller barn.

I expect Verry Ellegant to run a big race, but she may just need the run and will look for more ground as her campaign progresses.

Should be a great night of action from Down Under. Good luck!