Lock And Key could be Luke Ferraris

Local horse racing returns on Wednesday after a two-day breather with a testing card at Scottsville.

All the exotic bets legs are challenging and players might need to go wide to stay in contention, so finding a banker would help.

Computaform goes with Xenophon (R2.70 a Win with Betway) as the Pick 6 banker in Race 3, Leg 1. However, juvenile Next Of Kin (R2.30) poses an clear and present danger after an eye-catching runner-up debut run over course and distance three weeks ago and simply cannot be discarded from the permutation.

Still, those two might be the budget way to go in that leg.

Race 7, Leg 5 of the Pick 6, looks fairly competitive at first glance, but closer scrutiny suggests that the three-year-old filly Lock And Key (R2.30) is very well weighted against her male opposition and has form shouting she is hitting her straps.

Also on the menu for the day is racing at Happy Valley and, with the Hong Kong season drawing to a close, opportunities for a dabble in the racing-mad city are diminishing.

South African jockey Luke Ferraris has had a fabulous season in Hong Kong and will finish in the upper reaches of the championship. He’ll be keen to make his number as shiny as possible in the next 10 days and has a couple of promising chances on Wednesday.

The ride that stands out is for compatriot Douglas Whyte aboard Harmony Fire (R5.50 a Win) in Race 4.

Ferraris’s other big chance comes in Race 6 with the appropriately named Youthful Spirits (R4.33).