Newcastle Betting Tips, Best Bets & Odds for March 30

Despite finding the seven furlongs a little sharp in two Victorian starts at Pakenham, there was merit in both efforts from this Maher & Eustace-trained filly who they've now elected to campaign in New South Wales with and the step to 1850m on Tuesday being a big positive.

By Savabeel and out of the dam Rock Diva, a Group One winner over 3200m (Auckland Cup), the breeding does indicate that Sassysav will get over a trip and although was well held into fourth via her last attempt, the winner was Listed competitive over the Spring and the runner-up Big Friday clearly has ability.

The blinkers have now been applied to this three-year-old who has been a little slow out of the gates but on this big Newcastle circuit, she's found a rather weak Maiden and one that she can figure in with any improvement now over this more suitable trip.

While he was a little disappointing first-up as an odd-on favourite, this colt did have some excuses in that return effort at Kembla Grange where he wasn't comfortable with the more conservative tactics that were adopted before encountering some trouble in the run home.

The son of Deep Field won his only other outing, a three-year-old Maiden at Randwick-Kensington back in November where he led throughout and held a reasonably safe margin on Kiku, a filly that was has won three of her next four starts including a Benchmark 72 by a big margin in town last Wednesday.

Rustic Steel has been back to the trials which was a comfortable win over the 950m here at Newcastle on March 25 where the blinkers went on, a gear change that remains for race day and over the 1200m which should suit, he gets a chance to bounce back to the winner's stall.

Following a dominant Maiden win at start two in a Provincial Maiden in March last year, this gelding was never able to progress any further where although not beaten far in the Albury Guineas, was uncompetitive in two Spring outings before being spelled.

Given plenty of time, Mensa Missile returned in the Autumn and has improved out of sight, making nice ground first-up at Wyong before stepping up to 1200m on March 12 and recording a comfortable win over Geist, a Godolphin filly who was coming off two luckless efforts in stronger grade.

The time for that last victory stacked up superbly for the class versus the 1200m event that followed it, sharing a similar overall time (faster last 600m) by that race which was won the very smart Subedar, a galloper who is one of the early favourite's for Saturday's Group Three Doncaster Prelude.