Australia: Bartholomeu Dias gets more ground in second start off layoff

There will be a small crowd at Sandown Park in Melbourne, Australia, to root home the runners on Wednesday’s eight-race card.

Starting on Tuesday, a small group of owners will be allowed to attend races in the state of Victoria, where Melbourne is located. Owners can attend under strict guidelines, such as social distancing, contact tracing, and a policy of departing after the race involving their final runners. Attendance will be limited.

The program at Sandown Park, also known as Ladbrokes Park, begins at 10:25 p.m Eastern, or 7:25 p.m. Pacific, on Tuesday. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.

The fifth race on the program is a handicap at 1 1/8 miles on turf that includes the three-time winner Bartholomeu Dias who will have his second start in Australia. A 5-year-old British-bred, Bartholomeu Dias was a fast-closing fourth in his first start in the country in a one-mile handicap on May 30 at Caulfield Racecourse, beaten a length.

Trained by Ciaron Maher and David Eustace, Bartholomeu Dias had not raced in eight months. Trained by Charlie Hills in England, Bartholomeu Dias finished fourth in the Chesham Stakes at Royal Ascot in 2017. Bartholomeu Dias has won at distances ranging from 1 3/16 to 1 9/16 miles, suggesting Wednesday’s race is well within his range.

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Bartholomeu Dias will carry 132 pounds, nearly seven pounds less than topweight Bedford, who has not started since a fifth-place finish in a handicap at about 1 1/4 miles at Moonee Valley last August.

Bedford won a handicap at 1 1/8 miles at Sandown last June, beating Our Peaky Blinders, who finished second by 3 3/4 lengths in what was his final start of 2019. Our Peaky Blinders, who is part of Wednesday’s field, has had one start this year, finishing with interest when sixth in a seven-furlong handicap on June 6 at Flemington.

Bedford is slightly isolated at the top of the weights. Savaheat was booked to carry 135.5 pounds, but will be ridden by apprentice jockey Jaden Lloyd, reducing the assignment to 130. Savaheat has won four times at 1 1/8 miles, including a 50-1 upset in a handicap on May 23 at Flemington. Savaheat was fourth by 3 1/4 lengths at 1 1/8 miles at Flemington at 14-1 on June 6.