It’s here, Maturity night at The Meadows.

It’s the big one on the card which is Race 8 and supported by the feature for the stayers, the Fireball which is Race 6. Wrongly Accused and Magpie Hector the big names and favourites within those.

Catch in-depth coverage on the Watchdog App from 6.20pm with Nathan Rooney, Michael Tye and your truly. Text in at any stage throughout the night with questions and comments via the Grey Areas text line – 0458 675 485

BEST
Race 5, Sparring (6)
He’s been advantaged by the scratching of Ross The Boss as it leaves him with plenty of room to get moving. Retaliation is the danger, he can begin well and cross hard to the rail but isn’t 100% reliable. I think Sparring can go forward, take benefit from last week’s run and be hard to beat.

NEXT BEST
Race 3, Hurricane (4)
He goes from an unsuitable box 8 last week to a much preferred box 4 tonight. Highly Connected (1) can show pace, but Hurricane is a sneaky chance to lead this. There’s some seriously strong dogs in the race, but if Hurricane leads they shouldn’t be catching him.

VALUE BET
Race 9, Algebra (6)
He started his career in fine style, it hasn’t been totally smooth sailing since then but I think he gets a big chance to bounce back tonight. The early speed of the others is modest at best, he has enough acceleration to take advantage of that and show us where he’s really at. At around $7.50, it’s a good offer to find out.

WORTH THE RISK/TAKE ON
Race 7, Zipping Columbus (3)
He steps up to 600m and looks suited to that, but he’s not a great beginner and on this bend start could cause a problem for him. There’s others that should be ahead of him and they will be tricky to pick up. At the short quote of $2.60 I’d be happy to take him on.

QUADDIE
2,6,8
3,7,8
Field
5