Dick Powell’s Australian Pick of the Week Jan. 16, 2019

Race 8 at Australia A (Geelong) Wednesday night is a handicap going 5 1/2 furlongs around a left-hand turn. I'm a sucker for well-bred horses, even all the way down under, and one sticks out here. #8 MORE SUNDAYS won a barrier trial 13 months ago at Rosehill while showing good speed. In his career debut, he was backed down to 5-2 and went gate-to-wire to win going away on this track going this distance on very soft ground. He looked well on his way to being a major colt but I am not sure why but he came back two weeks later to win a barrier trial back at Rosehill going 4 1/2 furlongs. The son of More than Ready was back in action 13 days later at Randwick and picked up Kerrin McEvoy to ride. He showed good speed away from the gate to set up a stalking trip where he was squeezed in the stretch as he was weakening. It didn't cost him the win since he was backing up some when the running got serious but he was only beaten three lengths in a $125K conditions race, a much stronger race than today. Five months later, he shows up at Geelong for Team Hayes and gets Jordan Childs, who rode him to victory two races back. By champion Fastnet Rock, More Sundays is out of the brilliant More Joyous, who won eight Group 1 races for Gai Waterhouse. This is her second foal and despite high expectations, he shows up here in a modest spot for owner-breeder John Singleton. A win gets him back on track for bigger and better targets down the road. The only horse that I give any other chance to is #6 MCGARRETT. He returned off a long layoff two starts back and was a good second in a very fast sprint then he showed good speed before weakening last out on soft turf in a fast early/slow late race. He should be fit in his third start off the layoff and should improve a lot here. More reasons to give him a shot is that his two best races came on firmer ground. "Book 'em, Danno!" He will probably be shorter than his 2-1 morning line but More Sundays has a big, class edge over this group. Don't forget TwinSpires.com's Australian Racing Bet Back offer where you can receive up to $5 back on your first Win bet if your horse finishes second. This offer is valid on the Australia A track Monday through Thursday if you opt in and play at least four races on a single day using the new TwinSpires platform. There is a maximum bonus of $50 per player each week.