Thorndon Mile 2021 Betting Tips, Best Bets & Odds

The 2021 Thorndon Mile is set to be the kick off point for New Zealand's champion Mare Melody Belle as she aims at the 2021 All-Star Mile at Moonee Valley.

She runs first-up over the mile off the back of a Spring Carnival placing in the Mackinnon Stakes in November behind Arcadia Queen.

This looks her race to lose and there will be very few barracking against the champion Mare.

You would have to be crazy to not have this remarkable Mare as the top selection of the race, looking for Group One win number 13.

Her first-up form can be a little scratchy at times, so if they are going to beat it will be in this, but first-up at the mile simply oozes confidence from the stable about how she is prepping this campaign.

She did not come up in her first few runs last time in where she was stabled over in Sydney and never looked to be enjoying it, where she then came back home and racked up another two Group One wins in her own environment.

The way to have her is in winning form coming to Australia, so although this Group One is not the end goal, this is an important step towards a $5M race in March, so they will want to be ticking this race off.

This six-year-old Gelding is one of the better performed horse in New Zealand, two starts ago taking out his first Group One, the Captain Cook Stakes, but had been competitive at this level prior as well.

He then went to the Zabeel Classic over 2000m, a trip that arguably he is not at his best at, so back to the mile here is what suits him down to the ground.

He was the fourth place getter in the race last year behind THe Mitigator where he went off as one of the favourites, but he now runs into a champion Mare and one of the best horses that New Zealand has produced.

Look for him to be the clear danger to Melody Belle, but I do not see him beating her.

This could be your horse at a big price for the multiples, currently paying a similar price to what he did last year when winning the event.

He has been rather poor at his last two starts, finishing fourth in an open handicap two starts back before suffering cardiac arrhythmia last start.

He was placed second at Group Two level in November subsequent to winning over 1550m, so the form is there, he just needs to find it again.

A small field in a race where he may be able to dictate, I am happy to land with him as my third selection if he can find last year's form.