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There are five metro meetings set to take place on Wednesday, including at Warwick Farm where an eight-race program is scheduled.
Race 6 Warwick Farm
Sailor @ 5.50
Race 7 Doomben
Meat Pie Artie @ 4.20
Race 5 Sandown
Pitchanun @ 4.60
Sailor for Warwick Farm glory
The sixth race on the Warwick Farm card is a 1600m Benchmark 72 handicap expected to take place on a heavy 8 track.
Chris Waller saddles Influential here with the gelding expected to start favourite in his second start this prep.
The three-year-old resumed with a seventh when beaten over 21 lengths in a 1500m Benchmark 72 handicap at Rosehill at the start of last month.
Influential has demonstrated improvement in his two barrier trials since, most recently when second over 900m at Rosehill on 23rd July.
The son of The Autumn Sun has demonstrated his best form on a sound surface however, including when taking a 1400m maiden at Kembla Grange in October.
With the above in mind there has to be concerns surrounding his ability to act on the expected heavy going and SAILOR is preferred in this event.
This six-year-old was the winner of a 1600m Benchmark 64 handicap on a soft 7 track at Newcastle in early April and he has placed second twice since.
The most recent of those two second place efforts came when contesting a similar race to this over track and trip last month.
Sailor raced on a heavy 8 track that day and has since recorded a fourth over the same distance in a Benchmark 78 handicap at Randwick.
Kris Lees' gelding has a good barrier in four here and, with apprentice Benjamin Osmond taking three kilograms off his back, he looks capable of returning to winning ways.
Pie to salute at Doomben
The penultimate contest on the Doomben card is a 1350m Class 1 set weights contest set to take place on a soft 5 surface.
American Phireball is expected to feature prominently in the betting having shown improvement when racing second up.
The four-year-old was beaten just over half-a-length when third in a Class 2 handicap over this distance at Ipswich that day.
American Phireball raced on a good 4 track that day, however, the soft 5 going expected for this event is no issue having placed second at Eagle Farm in similar conditions in January.
Trainer Chris Munce reaches for the winkers for the first time here and, while his representative has in form hoop Justin Huxtable up, MEAT PIE ARTIE is the pick here.
The youngster failed to shine when finishing last of 13 in the 1600m Winx Guineas at Sunshine Coast earlier this month.
Meat Pie Artie jumped at $81 when racing on a heavy 9 track that day, having previously recorded a victory in similar conditions when racing in an Eagle Farm maiden event.
The three-year-old scored by just under a length at Eagle Farm, having returned to action with a solid fourth in a 1200m maiden at Doomben last month.
An inside alley is a positive for Jag Guthmann-Chester's mount and he looks capable of delivering a victory wearing a tongue tie for the first time.
O'Brien mare to score at Sandown
They are set to race on the Hillside track at Sandown with the fifth race of the day a 1600m Benchmark 70 handicap.
PITCHANUN has a good barrier five from the rail and has registered second-place finishes in two of her last three starts.
The first of those saw her lose out by a narrow margin in a Benchmark 70 handicap held on the Lakeside track here early last month.
While the selection failed to shine over 1800m here subsequently, she showed up well in a 1600m Benchmark 78 handicap at Flemington when last in action on 20th July.
The pick was beaten less than a length on a soft 6 track having jumped at odds of $26 that day.
Danny O'Brien's representative has gone well on the forecast heavy 8 going in the past and she is taken to return to winning ways.