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SENTrack: Andrew O’Toole’s Saturday best bets at Darwin (07/06)
Andrew O’Toole • June 7th, 2025 12:30 pm
The long-awaited build-up to the Great Northern Darwin Cup Carnival begins in earnest today with the first of four meetings at Fannie Bay pre-Carnival during the month of June. An excellent six-race card has been assembled, with some 56 acceptors, 12 riders and a host of chances at what promises to be a racemeeting featuring form galore for the coming weeks.
The feature is the $23,400 Great Northern Darwin Cup Carnival Handicap, an 1100m sprint for the Benchmark 76 (or open grade) performers. A field of eight will do battle over the sprint trip, and not surprisingly, perennial trainer’s premiership pacesetter Gary Clarke is well represented, with half the field engaged. Talented horseman Chris Nash has a two-pronged attack courtesy of topweight Ideas Man and Mr Have A Chat, while the field is completed by newcomer Damo Dayz, trained by Paul Shiers, and interesting 3yo Cap Ten, from the stable of SA visitors Heather and Graham Lehmann, who have enjoyed good success in the Top End in recent years.
Clarke’s quartet is headed by Rising Sphere and Flying Annie, who have both been in good form recently. Flying Annie actually beat her well-performed stablemate when they met over this trip and in this grade on 10 May, and the margin that day was 0.2 lengths. However, Rising Sphere is a half-kilo better off at the weights with his rival than when they last met, and that might be enough to reverse the result. Also in Rising Sphere’s favour is the inside barrier draw – last time he drew out in barrier five – while Flying Annie has also drawn well, alongside her stablemate in gate two.
Rising Sphere, a rising 8yo, has been a good quality sprinter since making Darwin his home almost three years ago. He won the Montgomerie Lightning Plate on Darwin Cup Day in 2024 and his record over this trip – 18 starts, five wins, four seconds and two thirds – speaks volumes for his ability at the short courses. He will have the services of Jarrod Todd, who knows him well, and with the Clarke team in good form – they had a double at the most recent meeting a fortnight ago – Rising Sphere should give his supporters a great run for their money.
Flying Annie, a 6yo daughter of Flying Artie, is the winner of six of her 27 starts, and after failing in the Queen of the Desert Stakes in Alice Springs on 6 April, it was good to see her back in her best form some five weeks later. Like Rising Sphere, she also has a good record at the trip of 1100m, with two wins, five seconds and three thirds to her credit, and Aaron Sweeney, who was aboard last time out, retains the mount.
But the chances don’t end there. Ideas Man, twice placed in the NT’s No 1 sprint, the Palmerston Handicap, is back for another campaign and he is such a fine performer that he can never be left out of calculations. Nash has done a great job with the winner of nearly $550,000 in stakes, and his ten wins and nine second placings, as well as ten thirds, are testament to that. Although last in the Pioneer Sprint in Alice Springs last time out in early April, that effort was so out of character it would pay to disregard it, and with Hannah Le Blanc claiming 1.5kg from Ideas Man’s book weight of 63.5kg, the son of Brazen Beau actually gets in pretty well at the weights for a horse of his calibre.
Damo Dayz is an interesting newcomer to the Top End. Formerly trained by Tony Gollan in Brisbane, the 5yo son of Cable Bay, now in the Shiers stable, is lightly raced, having had just the 15 starts for four wins, two seconds and a third, and in his only start over 1110m, he finished second to Zelgaria at Doomben in December last year. He has not had a trial since arriving in Darwin, but his canny trainer/jockey will no doubt have him primed for a big showing first-up.
Seguso and Shakattak, Clarke’s other pair, are both first-up here but could show up in that state. Seguso was slightly disappointing during his last campaign but improvement can be expected this time in, while Shakattak has shown plenty in his Top End career so far and although his last couple of runs were below par, he too can make a bold showing fresh.
Mr Have A Chat has struggled somewhat in this grade, but that said, hardly every goes a bad race, while Cap Ten, a three-race winner from just ten starts, is one of the more interesting runners on the day. He is obviously a sharp young sprinter and his trainers will have their eyes on bigger prizes later in the Carnival for sure.
The Sitzler TROBIS 3YO Handicap over 1200m is a tremendous eight-horse line-up, with six of the eight having won at their last start.
Topweight All Inclusive, while he didn’t win by much at his Top End debut, was nevertheless strong through the line and the extra 100m this time should be to his liking. Stablemate Bollon rocketed home to finish second, beaten 0.8 lengths, in the race won by All Inclusive, and had he not bungled the start, he may well have won. Valabing, a daughter of the former good racemare Desert Lashes, won her last start on the synthetic surface at the Gold Coast and trialled well here earlier this week, while Bruno Bruno and Vanguard Legend, back from let-ups, are others with a chance as is the last-start AS winner Snore Room.
The weather in the Top End this week has been very pleasant, with cooler mornings and warm, beautifully fine days. The official forecast for today reads: Partly cloudy. Light winds becoming east to south-easterly 15 to 20 km/h during the morning then becoming light during the day. The temperature is forecast to reach 31 degrees during the day, and 20 overnight, while there is a 10% chance of any rainfall.
The first race on the four-race card gets underway at 2.25pm (NT time), which is 2.55pm on the eastern seaboard, while the last is timed to go at 5.20pm (NT time), or 5.50pm in New South Wales and Victoria.
BEST BETS
Race 1 # 6 GALACTIC FURYFormer SA-trained 7yo having his first Top End start. The winner of five races and over $350,000 in stakes. Trialled nicely here three weeks ago, beating home subsequent winner All Inclusive, and although he has not started for four months, should be ready to put his best foot forward here. The Gary Clarke-Jarrod Todd combination needs no introduction and he should be hard to beat from a middle barrier at the 1300m start.
Race 2 # 2 FLYWas narrowly beaten by Tugela Falls on his first Darwin outing on 10 May, and stepping up in trip here to the 1200m should assist his chances. Lightly-raced son of Merchant Navy has drawn awkwardly but showed good pace in his first Fannie Bay start, and trialled well previously. Three times placed from just four starts and gets an ideal opportunity to break his maiden duck here – Tugela Falls has won again since which enhances Fly’s prospects.
Race 5 # 2 RISING SPHEREResumed from a seven-week break with a close-up second to stablemate Flying Annie over 1100m on 10 May. Has been a five-time winner over the same trip, and meets his last-start conqueror a half-kilo better this time. Has drawn the ace with his chief rival on his outside, and with Jarrod Todd aboard, he can turn the tables on his Clarke Racing stablemate. Quality sprinter who looks very hard to beat in the open dash.
SELECTIONS
FANNIE BAY RACECOURSE (DARWIN) – GOODRACE 1 – 6, 2, 3, 4RACE 2 – 2, 4, 10, 9RACE 3 – 1, 5, 7, 3RACE 4 – 4, 1, 8, 6RACE 5 – 2, 7, 1, 4RACE 6 – 3, 2, 5, 8
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