Bunbury Betting Tips, Best Bets & Odds for February 17

It's a rather strong three-year-old contest to open the February 17 meeting from Bunbury but with most of this field being deep into their campaigns - many still in their first preparations, this could be the fresh runner striking.

While he is a work in progress (was racing one rein for much of his first and second runs), Nobel Laurence improved enough with the race experience to make light work of his opposition on November 12 and the runner-up Standout Rose franked the form by winning her next outing.

That followed the debut where after drawing wide, he was eased back and rattled off a race-fastest last 600m when third to Smashing (competitive at Stakes level late in 2020) and Alpha And Omega, who won her next two starts, the first of those in good time relative to the November 7 Ascot card.

The stable change to Anne King worked wonders for this son of Dawn Approach last campaign where he recorded two wins and two seconds from his first four starts for the new yard prior to stepping up in grade and taking on Saturday class opposition.

While the first-up form doesn't necessarily read well, Approach was only a stride off winning via his last fresh attempt and in that 2020 preparation, the very competitive performances behind Last Of The Line (80 rater/won two in town this campaign) and Dom To Shoot (Group One placed and now measuring up in Melbourne) reads superbly for a Provincial Class 3.

From barrier three and resuming off a fair trial, jockey Alan Kennedy can camp off a good speed and with a cutaway in the straight, it will give him a chance of clean air towards the inside late in proceedings if he sticks to rail, so there's options to avoid any potential traffic.

We saw a similar scenario play out on last Thursday's program with the returning Bob Peters runner Testing Love winning first-up over 1400m and he looks to be in the box-seat with another three-year-old in the last on February 17, a galloper with a similar profile.

Her breeding suggests she'll get over further in time and staying at the seven furlongs is favourable early this campaign, with a win over this track and trip at start two last November before being tipped out, and it was a professional victory, given she had to make ground after being held-up for a good chunk of the home straight.

Fashion Queen arguably should've won on debut the start prior and while this is certainly isn't the worst Provincial Class 1 we'll see, she does look one of perhaps two or three in this field with genuine upside and the February 9 trial when hitting the line well for fourth was hard to fault.