Australia: Beau Rossa drops into good spot in Lightning Stakes
Beau Rossa went from a win in the Group 2 Tobin Bronze Stakes at Morphettville Racecourse in Australia on May 1 to a 10th-place finish in a field of 11 in the Group 1 Goodwood Stakes at six furlongs at the same venue on May 15.
The Group 1 sprint was too tough for Beau Rossa, who is back against a reasonable level of competition in Saturday’s $73,940 Lightning Stakes at 5 1/4 furlongs at Morphettville.
A winner of 4 of 9 starts, Beau Rossa will be favored against 12 rivals in the Lightning Stakes on a course on which the 3-year-old gelding has won two of three starts. Trained by Will Clarken, Beau Rossa has won three times this year and is a danger from off the pace.
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The Lightning Stakes is restricted to 2- and 3-year-olds and includes the 2-year-old fillies Bleriot and Bolsonaro. They turn 3 on Sunday when the rest of Southern Hemisphere racehorses advance a year in age on Aug. 1.
Saturday, Esta La Roca is still a 3-year-old filly for the Lightning Stakes. A New Zealand-bred, Esta La Roca has won 4 of 9 starts with one of the wins coming at 4 3/4 furlongs and the other three at five furlongs. Esta La Roca tends to show speed, and may have early company in that position from the 3-year-old filly Dirty Thoughts.
A winner of 3 of 7 starts, Dirty Thoughts kept good company in her final starts of 2020, finishing third in two six-furlong stakes at Moonee Valley Racecourse in Melbourne last September – the Atlantic Jewel Stakes and the Group 3 Champagne Stakes.
Dirty Thoughts has had one start this year, finishing third by 1 1/2 lengths as the 8-5 favorite in a five-furlong handicap at Flemington Racecourse. Dirty Thoughts closed from fourth.
Morphettville, located outside of Adelaide, has a nine-race program beginning at 10:22 p.m., Eastern, or 7:22 p.m., Pacific, on Friday. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.