A good and proper card deserves a good and proper best, and so it is Good And Proper who goes as the Melbourne Mail's best in race three where she is favourite - at least for now.
Her margin over the second elect in early markets, Belle Savoir, is slim, and the map money will be with that rival.
It's hard to see where else it will be though with the race dropping away dramatically behind that front pair who met two starts back where the result was decisive.
There Good And Proper sat back, as she does, before rounding up Belle Savoir and others to win by a margin that was only widening at the death.
Both have run since, Good And Proper again running nice splits but to no avail having been left with too much to do and Belle Savoir getting a soft lead up to a mile, a scenario that looked to suit, but failing to finish off after seemingly travelling well to the corner.
Belle Savoir started the campaign off a long break and so a couple of rusty runs were easily forgiven but her latest was straight up disappointing and she has a point to prove now. Good And Proper seems the most likely winner of the pair and a good bet at prices bigger than $3.50.
The future is not bound by the past and so 'head-to-heads' tend to be a far too specific solve - a fairly clunky way to go about deciphering the form guide - but they can be informative.
We will be hoping that the Good And Proper v Belle Savoir head-to-head from two starts back proves informative this weekend and our each-way play also features a specific head-to-head among it's workings out.
As was the case with Good And Proper v Belle Savoir, Unseen Ruler was the lesser of two chances according to betting when he matched up with Brung King at Warrnambool, but he was able to round him up and run away a decisive winner on the track.
They meet again in the fifth at Sandown with the betting again making Brung King the pick of the pair. This time the race does run deeper than just two (there are plenty for whom a case can be made) but the $14.00 on offer makes Unseen Ruler a bet worth having.
Brung King has been seen again since the Bool and he did a good job to stick on and win at Sandown last Sunday in a race that was strongly-run and featured a slow finish.
Unseen Ruler will likely find himself in a position of disadvantage in running - part of his price - but he seems sure to relish the mile and his legs come here fresher than Brung King's among others.
A bit of luck along the way and he should be bang there in a good race.
THE MELBOURNE MAIL
BET OF THE DAY: Race 3 #1 Good And Proper @ $3.70
EACH WAY PLAY: Race 5 #7 Unseen Ruler @ $14.00
