It’s a card of racing from the top shelf, as expected, for the opening night of the Trilogy featuring heats of the Sportsbet Sandown Cup, Sportsbet Harrison-Dawson and Sportsbet Sapphire Crown.

There’s a stack of quality throughout, a terrific night at the office for the purists. It all kicks off at 7.07pm with the opening heat of the Sapphire. Hear my thoughts before every race on Sky Racing 1.

BEST
Race 9, Deadly Avenger (2)
There’s no excuses for him here. It’s a good draw and arguably a drop in class compared to the field he’s been in. Sparring (5) is the biggest danger, but if they lock horns early Deadly Avenger will get the better of him late.

NEXT BEST
Race 5, Electrify (3)
It’s a big match up against the star Magpie Hector. It’s likely that Electrify will begin ahead of Magpie Hector and if he does that, he won’t be caught. If he’s let off the leash he’s fast enough to do a number on them.

BEST VALUE
Race 10, Giacomo (3)
The box draw and speed map suits him. His recent form is tarnished by wide draws as he wants to be close to the inside, it’s a big reason why he’s at double figure odds. He should get room to do his thing, absolutely good enough to be a winning chance too.

WORTH THE RISK/TAKE ON
Race 1, Super Freaky (2)
She’s a greyhound who has no experience at this level of racing. I don’t feel like her confidence in races is rock solid either. Raw ability is the reason why she’s so short, but given the circumstances I think we’re unlikely to see her very best.

QUADDIE
Race 5: 2,3
Race 6: 1,2,4,7
Race 7: 1,3,6
Race 8: 1,2,6,7