RACE COMMENT

OVERVIEW: SMOKING SHANNON (1) made a big impression at her Victorian debut as she led throughout and blitzed her rivals in a mile rate of 1.55.7 at Shepparton. She is drawn to lead again and will take catching. ASMILEANDAWINX (7) is dropping back in class from her recent efforts at Metropolitan level and is capable of improving on her numerical form. Her third placed effort behind Keayang Payton in a mile rate of 1.54.1 is a good form pointer for this event. OLIVIA ROSE (5) is an interesting runner. She hasn’t started since sprinting sharply down the back straight and sustaining the run to score impressively at Terang in December. She has a tricky draw first up but is too good to dismiss. OPTIMAL (3) finished off quickly from midfield on the markers when third behind the smart pacer Secret Service Agent at Geelong and is not without a chance.