LA Firebird has been racing well in metro company this time and will relish a step back into a country race today. A six-year-old daughter of Stravinsky, LA Firebird doesn’t win out of turn, but she has finished in the minors at each of her four most-recent starts and simply will not be offered a better opportunity to return to winning form than she finds here.
More Chilli has returned to racing in typically competitive form this time and strikes a very winnable one at Newcastle this afternoon. The Sizzling gelding was an impressive over 1000m here first-up and there has been plenty to like about his four subsequent starts, including a close-up third at Scone last time out. He’s rock-hard fit and can slot in behind the early pace from barrier 8.
Capitulate has not been seen at the races since September, but he is a proven first-up performer and looks to have a pretty sizeable class edge over today’s rivals at Ballina. The Star Witness gelding was an easy winner at Ipswich first-up last time and continued to perform well as Toby Edmonds raised the bar. He’s had the benefit of a Gold Coast trial leading into this race and looks ready to go.
Holy Reign broke his maiden in style at Kembla Grange last time out and looks well placed to go on with the job at Newcastle today. The son of Manhattan Rain showed good ability throughout his debut preparation without securing an elusive win, but he looks to have returned to the track a far-more furnished prospect this time and should receive a great run today from an inside draw.