What an absolute treat in front of us this evening for the opening night of the Nationals. Sprinting and staying series are run in each state across the country, with next Thursday’s state finals to determine representatives to meet in National finals at Sandown Park later this month.

As expected, tonight’s Victorian heats at Sandown Park are sublime. The main attraction is again Wrongly Accused against Off The Chart, that’s Race 9 at 9.59pm.

Hear my thoughts before every race tonight at Sandown Park on Sky Racing 1. Then catch the wrap up on tomorrow’s edition of Grey Areas, live from midday on the Watchdog App.

BEST
Race 5, Canya Mayhem (4)
The Melbourne Cup winner returned to racing at Bendigo last Friday and he ran riot, it was what we needed to see ahead of a series like this. He meets some guns tonight but his weapon compared to them is that he begins better, where they mostly rely on acceleration after the start. I think he’ll begin well, lead and be hard to catch.

NEXT BEST
Race 6, Zelda Covilha (1)
It’s a pretty even and open race therefore the draw means plenty and Zelda Covilha has the best of them. He’s likely to be beaten out of the boxes by most of them, but I see a situation where he holds his position on the rail and settles close to the leaders. From there he’ll be a serious threat given the motor under his bonnet.

VALUE
Race 8, Sparring (6)
His past two runs have been better than what they look on paper. He’s likely to begin evenly tonight, then we should see his acceleration stand out compared to the rest. The draw isn’t awful given Storm Hustler (5) will lean to the rail early with speed and On The Prowl (7) should hold his line. I reckon Sparring is over the odds.

WORTH THE RISK/TAKE ON
Race 12, Mepunga Spirit (7)
I’m probably not as confident as I normally am with the ‘take on’ but if there’s one tonight I think it’s him. He’s drawn wide, doesn’t have great box manners and there’s some decent pace underneath him. It doesn’t look straightforward and given he’s around even money I think that’s under the odds.

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

Wrongly Accused (2) was sensational last week – he’s in Race 9 tonight, the final heat for the sprinters