Ellerslie Best Bets | Saturday 21 February

10 Summer Schemer is capable of upsetting Te Akau’s Seize The Day in the opener. He ran the fastest time of the day at the trials here on 10 February,  0.04 seconds faster than the current favourite.

7 High Country has been close up at his past few starts. The awkward draw is a query, but he only needs a touch of luck from the gates to figure prominently in the finish.

1 Old Bill Bone showed sharp improvement at Trentham last start. If he reproduces that effort, he’ll be hard to beat on Saturday. 

6 Panther, from the O’Sullivan and Scott stable, shapes as though the rise to 1400 metres will suit after a strong closing effort at his most recent outing. 

2 Towering Vision ran well stepping up to a staying trip earlier this month. He showed true grit to reclaim second after briefly appearing headed for third.

4 Pier resumed from a break with an excellent effort in the BCD Group Sprint. He charged through the line and looks ideally suited stepping up to 1600 metres.

2 Brayden Star is an Australian visitor who has been competitive in top staying fields in Melbourne. His trainers are no strangers to winning big races on this side of the ditch, either. Big chance.

1 Ohope Wins could not have been more impressive at her last start where she let down with a blistering run to win from a near-impossible position half way down the Te Rapa straight. Bolted in at her last visit to Ellerslie. 

6 Espionage was a genuine top-grade sprinter in Australia before going off the boil a bit for former trainers Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott. His fast-finishing placing on New Year’s Day at his New Zealand debut suggests he’s getting back to his best again.