Betting tips / Brad Thompson / 07 October 2011 / Leave a comment Bet Now View Market

Woorim is a crafty character that needs things to go his way, but Brad Thompson predicts he will have enough in his favour to run well in the Toorak Handicap (1600m) on Saturday at Caulfield.

Excuses, excuses...we've heard them all as Brisbane trainer Rob Heathcote looks to chalk up his first Group 1 winner with his undeniably talented, but enigmatic, galloper Woorim.

And yet if you listen carefully enough there was some substance in the bemoaning that has surrounded Woorim's most recent pair of failures.

Woorim jarred up on the slick Caulfield surface in the Sir Rupert Clarke Stakes a fortnight ago when fancied early in betting, ending up running third last.

The son of Show A Heart never stretched out and barely lifted his heart-rate as he reportedly 'saved himself' on the unsuitably hard ground.

His troublesome feet have been well documented and Heathcote has even called him a bit of a 'wuss' if the track isn't to his liking.

Heathcote decided the quick back-up was in order, but he found the wrong race in an Open Handicap with top-weight at Moonee Valley last Friday night.

Woorim notched up the best closing sectionals of the race when finishing strongly for sixth, despite the noted backmarker being totally unsuited by the bias of the Moonee Valley track, which favoured front runners.

After two luckless performances he will back up for the third consecutive week, but he remains the forgotten horse.

Admittedly, the track conditions are imperative.

He needs the pace on, which he should get. He also needs a bit of cushion in the track, around the dead rating would be ideal - Dead (5) would be perfect, which looks a serious chance with a bit of rain forecast today. And on top of this he needs the track to be playing into the hands of those who make ground from the back and out wide.

The last two are variables, but the current price of $16 is simply too hard to pass up for the horse who has (arguably) the best sprint in the land.

Jockey Damien Browne will have snuggled up on the rail from barrier two in the last portion of the field, but is likely to swing him to the outside for one last powerful sprint in the final 200m.

There will be plenty looking to lay Woorim on Betfair, even if the conditions look like suiting him.