Next Thursday the 3 day carnival at Warrnambool climaxes with the running of the Cup and the time honoured Grand Annual and after many years of betting in both I have found the ticking of a couple of simple boxes has paid off at the betting turnstiles. The ticking of these boxes does not mean instant profits but if you are prepared at least you cannot fall into becoming an after the race expert and at times the trainer is tipping you his horse!Firstly, for the Warrnambool Cup you must have a har

Next Thursday the 3 day carnival at Warrnambool climaxes with the running of the Cup and the time honoured Grand Annual and after many years of betting in both I have found the ticking of a couple of simple boxes has paid off at the betting turnstiles. The ticking of these boxes does not mean instant profits but if you are prepared at least you cannot fall into becoming an after the race expert and at times the trainer is tipping you his horse!

Firstly, for the Warrnambool Cup you must have a hard look at horses on a quick back up from the Tuesday 1700m City Of Warrnambool open handicap and secondly there is no harm in adding any runners from the previous Saturday. There are seven horses that fit this bill. Hassle, Joontoo Gemini, Liquidity, Packing Success and Sermon have been nominated for Caulfield while Daneland and Vengo are entered on Tuesday. If they back up in the Cup you have a live chance as per my recommendation. You also need to do the form, as per normal, and at the moment Hissing Sid and Brad Star stand out in this area.

For the Grand Annual it is the rule of the race to back the winner of the Brierly Steeplechase run on the Tuesday. Usually, though, we are talking about the favourite so this might not suit some punters. Another method is to look for the horses that were not entered in the Brierly but have been for the Grand Annual. This is clearly a case of the trainer suggesting the horse does not need a run on the Tuesday. There are three horses that qualify under this plan: Clearview Bay, Sir Pentire and War Dancer

The reverse works as well for the Brierly where you only consider horses that have not been entered for the Grand Annual and this year six horses qualify: Beach D'Or, Believe In Victory, Drumbeater, Mybigfatgreekhorse, Quilter and Stop The Traffic.

The best jumps trainer in Australia is Eric Musgrove. It is worth noting he has Mybigfatgreekhorse and Stop The Traffic in the Brierly but not the Grand Annual which clearly shows he has no confidence in either winning the Grand Annual but he has Conzeal in both and, in fact, Conzeal is the only horse he has entered in the Grand Annual.

Of course, with many of the runners in the Brierly nominated in both it is imperative you watch for any strong finishing runs in the Brierly. Just watch for those that keep going and fight to keep their spot in the run as well. In the finish it is all a matter of price and that is where you must make the choice. Good luck whatever way you go.