Ashburton Race 1
2 Lord Greystoke
Lord Greystoke was first-up for 1055 days last start at Timaru, where he got home well despite the long lay-off and some excuses in running. If he gets into stride quicker here, he should be able to land up much closer to the speed than he was first-up. Should that eventuate, I wouldn't be surprised to see him turn the tables on the favourite, Aviva.

Ashburton Race 2
1 Naval Command
Naval Command ran a much improved race at this course/distance last start when 2nd to Lone Spirit. That effort was about a length better than many of the recent efforts of this field, which therefore sees him hard to beat if he runs to that figure or improves for this.

Ashburton Race 3
6 The Diviner
The Diviner trialled well before his first run for Nayton Mitchell in the South Island, where he was outsider leader in a strongly run race and was one of the first beaten. Now back on a turf track and having his second run in the South Island from the inside gate, I thought The Diviner could run an improved race at odds. He maps to get a nice run behind the speed on the fence and should have every chance.

Ashburton Race 4
1 Triksta
Triksta looks to have found a very winnable assignment for her resuming run. He maps to land midfield on the fence from the low draw (2), in a race which looks as though it will be run at an extremely strong speed in front. If he's forward enough for this first-up run and the gaps go his way, he will prove hard to stop.

Ashburton Race 5
1 Hooray For Harry
Hooray For Harry was just fair first-up after being ridden back in the field and finished on okay down the outer. The blinkers now go on second-up and I'm hoping Lily Sutherland rides him positively from the wide gate (11). If he can lead or land outsider leader, he should be hard to beat.

Ashburton Race 6
4 Complicate
Complicate will almost certainly lead this field and there doesn't look to be an abundance of early pressure. She hasn't been too bad her past couple and a moderately run 2200m shouldn't hold any fears. Denby-Rose Tait's 2kg claim should only help and I thought she gets every chance to give a big sight in this.

Ashburton Race 7
2 Dazzling Miss
Dazzling Miss comes into this off the back of a decent run in the Gr.3 TAB Mile, where she was caught wide and working and was only beaten 2.6L. She's now had 5-weeks between runs and comes into this 1300m contest on the fresher side in what looks a very winnable race for her. The big query is how John Blackadder's ex-HK horses line up in this, could be worth watching the market on the day around those.

Ashburton Race 8
5 Mr Bully Tee
Tip of The Day
Mr Bully Tee can be forgiven for his last start flop as he clearly didn't cop the synthetic track. He now gets back on the turf and has drawn the inside gate, which should see him position closer to the speed than he was last start. Lance Robinson has made a multitude of gear changes and a vastly improved run wouldn't surprise. Best bet.

Ashburton Race 9
2 Mazzucato
Mazzucato has been racing against stronger R75 fields than this her past couple of starts. She gets a significant swing in barrier draws as she now has the inside draw to work with for this. With even luck in running, she will be hard to beat. I wouldn't be surprised to see her start closer to $2 than $3 in this.