Australia: Aeecee Express likely favorite in Tuesday handicap
Never Cry won a seven-furlong maiden race at Goulburn Racecourse in Australia on Aug. 14 in his fourth start, closing from 10th in a field of 13.
Four days later, Aeecee Express won a maiden race at 6 1/4 furlongs on the Kensington course at Royal Randwick Racecourse in his second start, and first outing since April.
The two Southern Hemisphere 3-year-olds race against winners for the first time in a seven-furlong handicap at Hawkesbury Racecourse on the outskirts of Sydney on Tuesday.
Despite being on similar career paths, they have significantly different official ratings that determine weight assignments. Aeecee Express has a rating of 65 and will carry topweight of 130 in a field of 10. The slightly more-experienced Never Cry has a rating of 59 and will carry 123 pounds.
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Aeecee Express will be favored for several reasons. The New Zealand-bred colt is trained by the high-profile operation of Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott and is relatively unexposed, with just two starts. Aeecee Express has a stalking style that could give jockey Tim Clark options as the race unfolds.
The race is a slight class drop for other contenders such as Crazy Wolf and General Soleil, who ran strong recent races.
Crazy Wolf closed from 10th to finish fifth, by slightly less than a length, in a more lucrative handicap at 6 1/2 furlongs at Hawkesbury on Aug. 19, his best race against winners. Crazy Wolf won a maiden race at 6 1/2 furlongs at Wyong Racecourse on July 20, his only victory in six starts.
General Soleil has been second in his last two starts – a nose loss in a seven-furlong handicap at Kembla Grange on Aug. 1, and a loss by about three-quarters of a length in a seven-furlong handicap at Newcastle on Aug. 21. General Soleil tends to run as a stalker, which should help his chances of another prominent result.
Hawkesbury has a seven-race program that begins at 11:20 p.m. Eastern, or 8:20 p.m. Pacific, on Monday. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.