Aptly enough, the Australia Stakes has been a happy hunting ground for Aussie-bred horses over the years. Only one winner has been bred anywhere else: the Kiwi-bred future Cox Plate winner El Segundo, who took the race in 2007.

Another Kiwi-bred, Tavisan, will be looking to follow in his footsteps when he tackles the Group 2 sprint at The Valley this Friday night but will be facing stiff opposition from lightly raced Godolphin sprinter Isaurian among others.

Saturday's highlight is the Carrington Stakes at Randwick.

You'll find Australia's best form guide for Saturday's Sandown, Randwick, Doomben and Gawler meetings in this week's Best Bets plus coverage of Friday night at The Valley.

On pages 4 and 5 you'll find four-state selections from some of the nation's leading form analysts as well as our popular Black Bookers, Sectional Stars and Video Stars features.

Best Bets ($6) is on sale Thursday morning in NSW newsagents, Friday in Victoria, Queensland, SA, WA and some rural/regional areas.