Australia: Barellan Bandit could threaten Juventus in one-mile handicap

The Australian gelding Barellan Bandit has such a solid race record at tiny Tamworth Racecourse that the 6-year-old is a suitable alternative to the solid favorite Juventus in a one-mile handicap at that venue on Monday evening across American time zones.

Barellan Bandit has won 5 of 21 starts in his career, and 2 of 3 races at Tamworth. In his last start at Tamworth, Barellan Bandit won a seven-furlong handicap in July, closing from seventh to win by slightly less than 1 3/4 lengths.

In this race at Tamworth, Juventus will rightfully be the focus of bettors. A winner of 6 of 47 starts, Juventus was beaten a nose in the minor Kempsey Cup at 7 1/4 furlongs at Kempsey Racecourse on Nov. 4, closing well to just miss catching pacesetter Hit the Target.

An 8-year-old, Juventus will race at Tamworth for the first time and will carry joint topweight of 134.4 pounds along with the outsider Three Kings. Barellan Bandit has a more appealing weight assignment of 121 pounds.

:: Save 20% on DRF PPs, Clocker Reports, and other handicapping essentials for a limited time

Juventus is winless in 11 starts since last December, although the loss at Kempsey cannot be criticized too strongly. What is a greater concern is the distance. Juventus has won three times at seven furlongs, but is winless in two starts at a mile.

Barellan Bandit has won 2 of 7 starts at a mile. Similar to Juventus, Barellan Bandit tends to run from off the pace.

Aside from those two, the 6-year-old gelding Group Think has a chance, considering he has faced tougher company in recent starts. Group Think finished 12th of 14 at 100-1 in the Country Championship final at Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney on Nov. 1 in his first start since April.

Group Think is better suited to this race at Tamworth. He has won 3 of 11 starts at a mile in his career.

Tamworth has an eight-race program beginning at 9:15 p.m. Eastern or 6:15 p.m. Pacific. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.

:: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.