Tamworth Betting Tips for June 26, 2026 - Tough Guy's Turn

Alex Marsh

Editor

Last updated: Wed 24 Jun 2026 15:45

Alex Marsh 1 hour ago

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Tamworth hosts nine races on June 26 with strong and well-placed contenders
'Splash Of Steel', 'Tough Guy', 'Maxandus', and value pick 'Hunter Bred' headline the selections
Smart barriers and solid form referenced for best bets across the program

Friday's NSW country racing program rolls into Tamworth. (Getty)

Tamworth hosts a competitive nine-race country program on Friday, with several progressive gallopers, in-form performers and well-placed resumers featuring throughout the card.

Tamworth Tips June 26
Lightning Ridge Bowlo/Walgett RSL Maiden Tips (Race 4)
West Tamworth Leagues Showcase BM82 Tips (Race 5)
Clubs NSW Showcase BM82 Tips (Race 8)
Tamworth Services Club Country BM82 Tips (Race 9)

A number of runners bring strong form references into their assignments, while favourable barriers and suitable race conditions could prove key factors across the meeting.

For information and dates on Australian feature races, visit the Group 1 Racing Calendar.

Tamworth Tips June 26

Lightning Ridge Bowlo/Walgett RSL Maiden Tips (Race 4)

Tamworth Favourite - Race 4 No. 6 Splash Of Steel

There was clearly a big opinion of him early, with Splash Of Steel contesting two metropolitan races last year and placing in the second of those before rounding out his first campaign with a fourth in the Wellington Boot.

He resumed at a massive price on the Gold Coast and worked home with the fastest last 600m of the Magic Millions card.

The Scone return on May 15 was also sound after a short break, with that maiden already producing two subsequent winners.

With those references, Splash Of Steel was a deserved favourite second-up at Muswellbrook on June 12, where he was beaten a pimple into second.

The first two cleared right out from their rivals in an affair that rated okay for maiden grade and, now third-up from another kind draw in a weak event, there are no excuses here.

West Tamworth Leagues Showcase BM82 Tips (Race 5)

Tamworth Value Bet - Race 5 No. 3 Hunter Bred

The two trials in April were quite good and, despite that, Hunter Bred started at a big price when resuming on May 2.

He kicked off over a trip short of his best and, after such a long absence, was always going to take some racing to reach peak fitness.

The third-up improvement at Gosford on June 18 suggested a corner could have been turned.

The seven-year-old attempted a wide and early move after being back and unsuited in a slowly run affair, understandably tiring late but certainly not disgraced.

There was depth to that provincial race, with the winner a Chris Waller-trained youngster who completed a double, the runner-up proving competitive at Saturday metropolitan level in May and third-placegetter Dubai Warrior a lightly raced middle-distance type who completed a Wyong double last winter.

Clubs NSW Showcase BM82 Tips (Race 8)

Tamworth Best Bet - Race 8 No. 9 Tough Guy

This ex-Victorian has proven a savvy pick-up by new connections, who paid $27,500 for Tough Guy and have since seen the tried purchase win four races from eight starts for the local Melissa Dennett yard.

The first two victories came at Tamworth, while the latest was a comfortable Benchmark 66 success at Moree before a spell, where the four-year-old ticked the 1200m box.

That trip looks ideal now third-up and, while defeated as a short-priced favourite first-up, he still recorded the fastest final 400m and 200m of the Gunnedah meeting.

The Scone effort was equally impressive when back, wide and without cover in a slowly run race, yet he still managed third with the fastest closing sectionals.

A wide barrier proved costly in that latest appearance as Tough Guy was dragged back early after jumping well, but this time Rory Hutchings has barrier two at his disposal.

Tamworth Services Club Country BM82 Tips (Race 9)

Tamworth Next Best Bet - Race 9 No. 4 Maxandus

Aaron Bullock commands respect wherever he rides, particularly at Tamworth where the gun country hoop is striking at better than 30% this season.

His final engagement on Friday is Maxandus, who is prepared by Melissa Dennett, with Bullock combining with the stable at a 50% strike rate over the past 12 months.

The lightly raced four-year-old bolted in first-up over this distance last preparation and the two times the market has strongly supported him have both come fresh.

That includes his debut when heavily backed into $4 before finishing fifth and again in December when punters snapped up $1.70, seeing him start $1.40 and justify that confidence.

There has been no public work leading into this return assignment, although the same applied before his December resumption off a longer spell and, in what looks a weak race, another betting push would not at all shock for a galloper who still has upside.

Verdict

Tamworth - June 26

Our Tamworth tips for Friday, June 26 are:

Tough Guy

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$3.10 - 4 Units

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Maxandus

To Win

$4.60 - 3 Units

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Splash Of Steel

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$2.30 - 2 Units

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Hunter Bred

Each Way

$20.00 - 1 Unit

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