Shadlee’s fortune to change

Tour De Var has run two poor races so far this season, finishing behind Happy Lion on both occasions, but those races were over 1200m and the five-year-old gelding has much better form over 1000m.

He raced over this course and distance in his third-last start and finished a 0.50-length second to Western Force. Benedict (2.5kg worse off) started favourite that day but finished three lengths behind Tour De Var and on paper should not turn the tables.

Benedict went on to finish fifth in his next two outings, both over 1000m on the turf track. He tried to make all the running in the first, but faded to fifth, four lengths behind Swift Wonder (3kg better off) and then finished a 4.35-length fifth behind The West Is Wide (0.5kg worse off). Swift Wonder (6kg better off) was behind Benedict that day.

So on paper there is not much to choose between Tour De Var, The West Is Wide and Swift Wonder.

The West Is Wide has only run once on the Polytrack and finished unplaced behind Copper Parade, so there is a possibility he did not enjoy the surface. That leaves Swift Wonder as the right one for boxed Exactas.