Has the best first-bend rating in the field and the highest early pace, making this dog a natural front-runner at a track where the first bend decides everything. At 238 metres, a dog that leads into the bend and handles it supremely well is extremely hard to catch, and those physical attributes are exactly what Ferndale Rye brings. Recent form has been disappointing — sixth and fifth in the last two — but this dog has recorded performances well above the current field average in the past few months, and at this low level of D5 grade, one good break from the traps could be all that is needed. Trap 3 wins nearly 20% of D5 sprints here, and the raw physical data supports this selection above anything else in the race.