Doomben Tips & Preview – Saturday, February 8

Open race to start with a handful on debut. 

Impervious really caught the eye when winning on debut at Ipswich a few weeks ago, angling into the clear out wide before eventually knuckling down for an impressive win by close to a length.  

The Tony Gollan/Angela Jones combination is typically a safe play, particularly with this smart filly by Farnan having drawn the inside gate. 

Poutchek should be one of the toughest to hold out with the right ride coming off the speed. 

Trained by Rob Heathcote, this talented four-year-old has improved with racing this prep, last seen finishing just outside the money at Ipswich over shorter where she ran on strongly between a pair of runners from a long way back. 

She faces a sharp rise up to the mile, but having handled further distances than this last time in work, she’s a definite chance with Nikita Berriman operating from a nice soft gate. 

Final Reset should have confidence on his side after returning to the winner’s stall at Newcastle last start over a touch further. 

Matthew Smith’s five-year-old had plenty go wrong over the concluding stages, checking across heels approaching the final furlong, before hitting full stride to go half a length clear. 

This small step back in distance helps and he is likely to get a tidy run right back from the speed with a stack of fitness on his side.  

Surprise Honey looks ready to run a nice race fourth-up for Tony Gollan. 

The filly by Extreme Choice featured in the money last start in a brave effort at Eagle Farm, hitting the lead at the 250m mark before the inside horse got the head bob in a ding-dong battle right to the line. 

Considering she was four weeks between runs, she should take plenty of improvement away from that effort, and she appears well placed for a similar performance with the 2kg claim and the middle gate to her advantage. 

Savour The Dream is back from a let-up and hoping to pick up where he left off at Eagle Farm in late December.  

By Super Seth, this talented three-year-old colt gave away a start over the mile, but that didn’t stop him from making up enormous ground over the final 600m on his way to a comfortable 1.7-length win. 

He’s been given a trial at the Gold Coast to keep him sharp and although he’ll be carrying 60.5kg on return, this race doesn’t look much tougher. 

The extra 100m should suit Termagant just fine after rattling home to finish second over 1000m on the Sunshine Coast a fortnight earlier. 

The mare by Deep Field has done everything but win this time in work, finding the money in two of her three starts where she’s had some awkward alleys to overcome on both occasions. 

Unfortunately, that’s the case again here, but with growing fitness on her side, she just needs even luck in the finish for a well-deserved win. 

Junipal should find this a touch easier after tackling The Lakes race at Wyong nearly a month ago. 

The old boy was never really afforded a chance that day when held up badly from the inside gate, but he was racing well in the leadup following a runner-up effort at Eagle Farm in the Members Mile to Gold Bullion.  

To be fair, the form out of that race hasn’t been spectacular, but as a former Group 3 winner, the son of Reset still has a serious class edge over a few key rivals here. 

North Of Eli continues to race well without winning for trainer Matthew Dunn. 

By Headwater, this talented four-year-old was last seen passing a few from a wide position second-up at Doomben on the Sunshine Coast over 1200m, a run that suggested he might be wanting further after hitting the line hard. 

In with a 2kg claim, the rise in distance suits, even if his third-up form doesn’t appeal. 

Anemacore has gone up short odds and rightfully so. 

Still lightly raced for a five-year-old, Shaun Dwyer’s gelding has seemingly gone to another level this time in work, resuming a comfortable winner at Eagle Farm last month where he put paid to his rivals by 1.5 lengths after rounding them up down the straight. 

By Unusual Suspect, he’s been the model of consistency missing the money only twice from nice starts, and with the extra trip likely suiting from a kind draw, he’ll be just as hard to beat. 

Hurts So Good gets out over 1200m following a dominant first-up win over shorter. 

This is the toughest race he’s contested, but the son of So You Think looks more than capable of handling the rise in grade based off the final 200m time he recorded at Eagle Farm two weeks ago.  

Twice a winner already over this journey, expect him to settle a little closer to the speed this time with James Orman dropping 5kg for the ride.