Australia: Ararat Cup comes down to Orleans Rock vs. Seewhatyouthink

The Ararat Cup in Australia on Sunday may be a showdown between recent cup race winners Orleans Rock and Seewhatyouthink.

A 6-year-old gelding, Orleans Rock won for the first time in 10 starts, since April 2020, in the Horsham Cup at 1 1/4 miles at Horsham Racecourse on Oct. 17. Sent off as the 11-10 favorite, Orleans Rock closed from seventh in a field of eight to win by 1 1/4 lengths.

During the losing streak, Orleans Rock often raced in tougher company at leading venues in Melbourne. The Ararat Cup is not that sort of race.

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Seewhatyouthink has won 3 of 6 starts in his career, and looks on the upswing despite a disrupted career. A 6-year-old French-bred gelding, Seewhatyouthink had three starts in Europe in 2019, including one win, but did not resume racing until early September when he won his debut in Australia in a handicap at about 1 1/16 miles at Geelong Racecourse.

After finishing seventh in a handicap at Hamilton Racecourse on Oct. 9, Seewhatyouthink rebounded to win the Mortlake Cup at 1 1/4 miles at Mortlake Racecourse last Sunday.

This is the quickest turnaround for Seewhatyouthink, who was 5-1 in early betting on Thursday. Orleans Rock was the 8-5 favorite.

Cup races are handicaps and a fixture in Australian races. They range in distance from seven furlongs at small tracks to the world-famous Melbourne Cup at two miles, which was run earlier this week.

If Orleans Rock or Seewhatyouthink falters, the 5-year-old gelding Aurora’s Symphony has a chance to show improvement compared to recent starts at shorter distances. Earlier this year, Aurora’s Symphony won three consecutive starts in handicaps against lesser company at distances ranging from 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 miles.

This is Aurora’s Symphony’s third race following a five-month layoff that ended on Oct. 17.

Ararat has an eight-race program that begins at 10:15 Eastern or 7:15 p.m. Pacific on Saturday. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.