Punting: Firm track will be perfect for Dr Green in Guineas

Class is the defining product of horse racing and Dr Green has it.

Which makes him look the best bet of the day in this afternoon's Wanganui Guineas.

Trainer Brian Jenkins has made a bold move taking on a 1320m stakes race fresh from a spell when Dr Green has yet to race beyond 1200m.

Countering that is the fact that the classy colt has been in work for a good spell and has shown his fitness at barrier trials.

The best news of all is that the Wanganui track has firmed each day this week and will be close to perfect by this afternoon. Dr Green's brilliance would have been dulled by a slow surface.

For insurance cover your bets by coupling Dr Green up in the quinella with Kenny Starfighter and Sandelli. Unless one of the trio races below par, they should form the trifecta.

There are some nice looking fields at both Wanganui and Tauranga, but be warned, most of the form runners have been racing on slow and heavy tracks and many of them are going to struggle with today's improved conditions.

River Chief (No 1, R3 at Tauranga) is not a horse I like - he's cunning enough to be able to read this - but his form background is better than those he meets in the jumpers' flat. If he can be persuaded to try just that fraction harder he can win today. The step up in distance might be just what he needs. Couple him up with Rely On Me (No 7) and Norville Prince (No 2).

Race four looks a little tricky, but City Affair (No 2) won too well at Taupo last start to be ignored in what is a tougher field. The key to her seemed to be finding firm footing for the first time this campaign and today's conditions should be perfect. All Nite Long (No 8) copped a shocking run from an outside barrier when beaten favourite behind City Affair at Taupo and watch for her to get much closer to the action this time.

Unlike most in this field Catalina Lady (No 1, R5) has form in good ground. She was a dropback horse when she raced at Te Aroha last start and did well to finish within one length of Vivaldi's Gone after being held up in running. She's in the same lower grade this time and makes a lot of appeal. Goldsinga (No 4) has had a little freshener and that might prove beneficial.

Lebanese Lawn, by Sandtrap, get it? Oh well, she looks to get a good opportunity to quit maidens here after her good debut second at Taupo recently. She has a nice barrier draw and if she races the same way as at Taupo she should get the run of the race behind the leaders.

There is no reason Scarlet Rose (No 6, R7) and Gristle (No 7), the pair that fought out a half-head finish at Te Rapa last time, cannot quinella the $40,000 Kiwifruit Cup. Gristle meets the other mare 1kg better in the weights and logic tells you that should sway the result in her favour, but Scarlet Rose is racing on her home track, where she has a good record and she gets the nod as a result. Put Te Aroha winner Northern Beau (No 2) in the mix.

Peluche (No 6, R8) has turned in three good runs since resuming from a long break in July. With form around Pin Up Boy, Shinzig and Whistleman she comes into this race nicely. The improved track conditions should suit. Sandgate (No8) has come through the grades quickly, but is a must for all multiple bets and Trebla (No 4) is the one to watch. He likes his home track.

Clifton Prince (No 2, R9) looks a great prospect provided the pattern of the day has shown up to favour on-pace horses. Baltaine (No 1) will take a lot of the money here, but he has yet to win on a good track and has to give Clifton Prince 3kg. For all that Baltaine is a game trier and will probably run the quinella, despite his 58kg topweight.

* The $35,000 Waikato Stud Stakes, race four at Wanganui, looks interesting on paper, but is probably clear cut. Echo Maid (No 1) beat Hpnotiq (No2) in the Breeders Stakes at Ruakaka last start and trainer Richard Yuill feels the filly has improved since. Lance O'Sullivan feels the opposite could be the case for Hpnotiq.

"She had nine days in the paddock after Ruakaka. Even though she is not a great trackworker, her work this week was not exciting. She looks very ready for one of ours and now that the tracks are starting to firm up it may not suit her. I would have liked to see her put a little more zest into her training."

There is no great depth to the field and Echo Maid will start a short-priced favourite.

Van Winkle (No 1, R1) is the likely favourite for next weekend's Great Northern Hurdles and he will start even shorter for his lead-up today. But it could be a trap. He has been trained for a much longer distance and there are some sharp horses like his stablemate Wednesday Night (No 4) and Just Jeff (No 2). He will probably win, but on a surface firmer than he prefers, there is a chance he could get outpaced on the turning track. Best advice - leave the race alone.

And how are you going to back the winner of race two where half-a-dozen unraced juveniles face each other? Only one, More Tin (No 2) has even trialled. Kenny Rae, who won this race last year with Be Happy For Us, had his three two-year-olds entered for the recent Cambridge trials and scratched the trio. There is no form to go on. Unless your garbo has a great aunt who knows the owner of one of the six and is strongly tipping it, have a coffee when the race is on.

Jury's Out (No 5, R8) is worth risking fresh from a not-so-successful Australian campaign. He has twice won when fresh and although this is a smart field, he has coped with even better. The footing should be perfect for him.

The way to attack the Wanganui meeting - back Echo Maid to win, all up to win, Dr Green, all up each-way, Jury's Out.

* Great racing in Australia today - Calveen makes her Australian debut in the A$200,000 Craiglee Stakes, which also sees Falkirk, now with Lee Freedman, making a fresh start in the same race.

Auckland Cup winner Bazelle furthers her Melbourne Cup campaign with a 1700m race and Justa Tad (She's Justa Tad in Australia) lines up in a mare's race at 7.10pm our time.

When you first look at the race you think 'whoa' Justa Tad's got 58.5kg topweight - no way. That's a lot of weight for a mare who lacks size, but don't be surprised if the fabulous racemare figures.

The 58.5kg is only 3kg above the minimum weight and the important point is she is racing against her own sex.

Justa Tad is a multi-group one performer and has overcome difficulties many times. She can figure and the drier the track the better her chance of mastering the weight.