Taking on the boys is always a task for three-year-old fillies, but Kaizen looks nicely placed in the UCI Stakes (1800m). Last start at Caulfield she took on the males and was desperately unlucky. She was shuffled back on the rails from an inside draw, then was held up coming to the turn and ran into a dead end 100 metres out. She looks an Oaks' prospect and meets a similar class field. As a bonus she drops 4.5kg, and so meets the winner from that race, Firehouse Rock, on 4kg better terms for being beaten less than a length. Trainer Robert Smerdon is shrewd in the placement of his horses and the fact he has chosen this race in preference to the richer Edward Manifold Stakes over 200m shorter is telling.

SUGGESTED BET: Kaizaen to win with a change of luck.

Flemington
Race 3 No. 3
WHO SHOT THEBARMAN

This lightly raced former Kiwi, now in the all-conquering Chris Waller stable, might be the safest bet of the day. The catch is the odds won't be fancy in the absence of Spillway, who will be in Sydney for the Metropolitan. A strong stayer, the presence of noted frontrunner Master's Degree will suit him perfectly. Who Shot Thebarman has a "typical New Zealand stayer" record. He did not race until last April when he won on debut as a six-year-old. An Auckland Cup winner, he failed miserably in the Sydney Cup before being transferred to Waller. The gelding improved markedly at his third run this preparation, when well backed at long odds to win over 2000m here three weeks ago and the extra 500m suits.

SUGGESTED BET: Who Shot Thebarman as the anchor in your multiple bets.

Flemington
Race 8 No. 1
MAY'S DREAM

Group 1-winning mare May's Dream is primed to maintain her unbeaten second-up record. She was strong to the line when beaten 3 lengths by Girl Guide over 1200m at Caulfield after resuming a fortnight ago. Second-up last spring, she won over 1400m at Caulfield, and last autumn at her second run for the preparation she won at Moonee Valley over 1523m. The 1400m on Saturday is ideal and she drops 2kg on the weight she carried at Caulfield. May's Dream showed her class last spring with seconds in the Thousand Guineas and Wakeful Stakes before failing to stay in the Oaks. Although she won her group 1 in the SA Oaks at 2000m she is at her best between 1400m-1600m. Brad Rawiller's patient style is suited to her racing pattern of being coiled with cover from her favourable draw ready to produce her trademark powerhouse finish in the straight.

SUGGESTED BET: May's Dream safe each-way.

Flemington
Race 9 No. 2
LUCKY HUSSLER

If you look at formlines it would be hard to find a more compelling case than Lucky Hussler. In his two starts since joining the Darren Weir assembly line, he's been a strong finishing second at Moonee Valley over 1200m and Caulfield over 1400m. The winner of both races was stablemate Trust In A Gust, who bravely won his first group 1 race last Sunday at Caulfield. No Trust In A Gust this time means Lucky Hussler gets the chance for his first Victorian win. Lucky Hussler is a former Queenslander, who is yet another advertisement for Weir's training skills. The gelding's form was terrible last winter, but under Weir's guidance he has bounced back to the form that saw him a group 3 winner.

SUGGESTED BET: Take Lucky Hussler for extra units or percentage in your quaddies and daily doubles.

Randwick
Race 9 No. 3
SPILLWAY

Anyone who backed Spillway to win the Naturalism Stakes at Caulfield two weeks ago will cringe at the thought of watching a replay. David Hayes trained four winners, but was still shaking his head late in the day when reminded of how unlucky Spillway was. Damien Oliver could only sit there while bailed up for a run for the last 600m in a slowly run affair. Sorry, was all Oliver could say to connections. Hayes and co-trainer Tom Dabernig are hell-bent on getting Spillway, 28th in order of entry, into the Caulfield Cup field and have switched the imported stayer to Sydney for the Metropolitan Handicap. A win will earn him a penalty and an almost certain Caulfield Cup start, just as Hayes did with Tawqeet who completed the Metropolitan-Caulfield Cup double in 2006. The switch to a right-hand track won't worry Spillway as he won a group 3 at Randwick in April.

SUGGESTED BET: Spillway to win and earn a Caulfield Cup berth.