What Choux Want could be the value bet in rich race at Ellerslie

If there is a value bet in tomorrow night's $1 million Karaka Million - and there usually is - it's sole South Island runner What Choux Want.

The TAB's final field betting includes The Soultaker at $12 and Sacred Elixir on $9.50. The pair finished second and first respectively at Ellerslie last start and you can make a strong case that What Choux Want, a close up third, could have beaten them both with a better passage up the home straight.

What Choux Want is at $23 and comes from a near-perfect No 5 barrier.

The southern filly was in that last race simply to give her a run around Ellerslie as a sighter and to see how she handled her first trip right-handed.

She handled it beautifully.

The two Million favourites remain Cambridge colt Manolo Blahniq at a tight $2.40 and Queensland filly O'Reilly Cyrus at $6. The likely scenario is that Manolo Blahniq will lead from his lovely No 3 barrier and O'Reilly Cyrus will sit somewhere close to mid-field on the outside. The Queenslander has a big finish and the final 350m should be one exciting contest.

When summing it up, don't forget O'Reilly Cyrus' trainer Liam Birchley's record in the race - three runners for a second and two wins.

One win selecting a horse from the sales series a year early is a huge achievement. Two winners and a second from three runners is beyond remarkable.

If it comes up tomorrow night as three wins and a second from four runners, chose your own adjective to describe that.