Australia: Bella Nipotina draws wide but still a threat in Stradbroke

First or second in her last three starts in Group 1 races, the 6-year-old Australian mare Bella Nipotina has earned the role of 123-pound topweight in the Group 1 Stradbroke Handicap at seven furlongs at Eagle Farm Racecourse in Brisbane on Friday night.

Despite the favorable recent record, Bella Nipotina has not gained the respect of bettors. As of Thursday morning, Bella Nipotina was a 10-1 outsider in a full field of 18 in the $1.98 million Stradbroke Handicap at seven furlongs.

As the final major sprint before the Australian winter, the “Straddie” is annually a highly competitive race.

With a big field, a good trip is vital, which helps explain Bella Nipotina’s price. A winner of 8 of 50 starts, Bella Nipotina has drawn an outside post. The race is run on a right-handed track with the start midway on the backstretch, leaving jockey Craig Williams tasked with saving some ground before the field reaches the turn.

Trained by Ciaron Maher, Bella Nipotina won the Group 1 Doomben 10,000 Stakes at six furlongs at Doomben Racecourse on May 18 for her second career win at that level. She was second by slightly less than a half-length in the Group 1 Kingsford Smith Cup at 6 1/2 furlongs at Eagle Farm on June 1, closing from fourth.

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The Stradbroke Handicap favorite will be Vilana, who has a rapid turnaround after an impressive win by 3 1/4 lengths in the Group 2 Stan Moreton Cup at six furlongs at Eagle Farm on June 8. Vilana has a good draw in post 14 in the Stradbroke Handicap, which will suit his closing style.

Eagle Farm has a strong nine-race program, beginning at 9:43 p.m. Eastern or 6:43 p.m. Pacific.

Earlier on the program, Broadsiding will be favored to win his second Group 1, and fourth consecutive start, in the $663,200 J.J. Atkins Stakes at a mile for Southern Hemisphere 2-year-olds. Broadsiding won the Group 1 Champagne Stakes at a mile at Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney in April.

A winner of 3 of 6 starts, Broadsiding closed from 16th in a field of 18 to win the Group 2 Aquis Stallions Sires’ Produce Stakes at seven furlongs at Eagle Farm on June 1.

In the final race, Kovalica, sixth as the 5-2 favorite in the Group 1 Doomben Cup at 1 1/4 miles on May 25, drops a level of competition for the Group 2 Q22 Stakes at 1 3/8 miles.

Kovalica was 5-1 in early betting on Thursday, a slight choice over 7-1 Bois d’Argent, the 25-1 upset winner of the Doomben Cup. Kovalica raced briefly in traffic in the Doomben Cup.

Bois d’Argent ended an 11-race losing streak since May 2023 in the Doomben Cup.

The $795,800 Q22 Stakes drew a field of 18, including 2019 Melbourne Cup winner Vow and Declare.

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