The feature race on the Rosehill Gardens program on Saturday is the Golden Pendant 2016, betting tips and the latest odds for the fillies-and-mares’ clash detailed below.

First Seal (outside) is the race favourite and Races.com.au tip to win the 2016 Golden Pendant first-up on Saturday in Sydney. Photo: Steve Hart.
Set to steal the show in Sydney as Race 7 at 3:55pm (AEST), this weekend’s $400,000 Group 2 Golden Pendant (1400m) features 10 runners with First Seal the $3.30 favourite at Ladbrokes.com.au.
She won the Group 1 Flight Stakes (1600m) as a three-year-old in 2014 with Blake Shinn aboard, and he is back aboard first-up this weekend.
The now five-year-old daughter of Fastnet Rock has won multiple Group 2 races since the elite level and has been placed a number of times in Group 1 company.
She has also suffered a number of injury setbacks including a fractured bone discovered after her last start 12th to Winx, who she beat twice early in her career, in the Group 1 Doncaster Mile (1600m) in April.
Trainer John Thompson is confident she’s going the best she has and is fully fit ready to fire fresh off a gun winning Randwick hit-out over 1200m by three lengths on September 5.
The other major players in Golden Pendant betting this Sydney Spring Racing Carnival are Tim Martin’s local Sheraco Stakes winner Heavens Above ($5) and the Ron Quinton-trained four-year-old Dixie Blossoms ($7) out to atone for her 12th in the same lead-up when only beaten 3.4 lengths.
So will the top three get the job done for the punters or is there value tipping an upset Golden Pendant result from the likes of Peter & Paul Snowden’s classy six-year-old Tycoon Tara ($8) or the David Pfieffer-trained Sheraco Stakes fourth placegetter Denmagic ($8)?
1st
#1 First Seal ($3.30)
Too much going for the favourite to bet against her first-up from barrier three with Shinn in the saddle. She’s a Group 1 winner and multiple Group 1 placegetter so is oozing class. Has plenty of fresh form (4-2-1-0) and blitzed her recent trial. The distance suits (3-2-1-0) for her resuming run and Thompson is full of confidence this could be her best season yet after a few setbacks last campaign. Has beaten Winx and not many can so that, so think she’ll win on class alone.
2nd
#2 Tycoon Tara ($8)
This daughter of Written Tycoon has been one of the surprise packages for Team Snowden this season. She won back-to-back Group races at Randwick to kick off her campaign over 1200m before the Theo Marks fourth when under a length off the winner Mackintosh a fortnight back. That was her first Rosehill run and she’s seen the track now so can improve. Distance is the test, but she’s going well enough for a top three run.
3rd
#5 Heavens Above ($5)
Plenty of boxes ticked by this five-year-old who jumps from barrier four with Tye Angland sticking in the saddle. She was runner-up in the Group 1 Queen Of The Turf over the mile in the autumn and has progressed nicely in two runs this time in. Won at Rosehill on September 10 narrowly in the Group 3 Sheraco Stakes (1200m) and second-up over 1400m should be ideal.
Get in on the Golden Pendant 2016 betting action and back our insider tips online now at Ladbrokes.com.au!