Australia: Atherton the one to catch in Hawkesbury handicap

A six-month gap between starts, and the addition of a tongue tie, has revived the career of Atherton, a 4-year-old Australian-bred gelding who will start favored in a handicap at Hawkesbury Racecourse outside of Sydney on Thursday.

Since early September, Atherton has won 2 of 3 starts – a maiden race at 6 3/4 furlongs on Sept. 4 at Wyong Racecourse and a handicap at 6 1/2 furlongs on Oct. 13 at Newcastle. In between, Atherton was third by about a half-length in a handicap at 6 3/4 furlongs on Sept. 22 at Wyong. The tongue tie became part of Atherton’s equipment for the Sept. 4 race.

At Hawkesbury, Atherton is part of a field of nine in a race at 7 1/2 furlongs, the longest start of his career. Atherton, trained by Kim Waugh, is likely to set the pace and could face pressure in that role from Budhwar, who is winless in his last eight starts.

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Atherton will carry 129 pounds, slightly less than topweight Carluca, at 134.4 pounds. Atherton was assigned 133 pounds, but will be ridden by apprentice jockey Tyler Schiller, who won with 5 of 50 mounts from Sept. 5 through Saturday. Waugh’s stable has been in better form, winning with 13 of 50 starters from Aug. 2 through Monday.

If the pace is too warm, Wairere Falls could be the beneficiary. Trained by Chris Waller, Wairere Falls won a maiden race in his third career start in June and is winless in four subsequent appearance.

Wairere Falls, who will carry 132 pounds, was third in a handicap at about 1 1/16 miles on Sept. 18 at Geelong, racing near the front but missing by 1 1/2 lengths as the 8-5 favorite. Wairere Falls figures to be the second choice at Hawkesbury behind Atherton.

Hawkesbury has an eight-race program beginning at 10:25 p.m. Eastern, or 7:25 p.m. Pacific, on Wednesday. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.