Agree entirely about outside draws - having said that Rippa is notorious for ordinary to poor barriers. Early speed is very much the key to his chances and when you have the time or inclination to concentrate on dissecting just one race in detail often enough his wide barrier has become a non-factor. Magic Millions day 2018 was a prime example as he drew about 14 and at first I threw the hands in the air and gave up but on closer inspection it did not seem to matter and was proven so. In general though I have neither the time nor inclination to delve that closely nor enough knowledge of individual horses to understand how a race might unfold so I do gravitate toward horses drawn well. A good punting friend insists on backing only horses that he has black booked so that he gets a better understanding of their racing patterns and it seems to work pretty well so if I have a resolution for 2019 it is to have less bets at less tracks.
