Australia: Bethencourt in position to break through for a win
Last July, Bethencourt finished second in three consecutive handicaps in Australia, always finishing within two lengths of the front.
Those close finishes loom prominently in Bethencourt’s form in advance of a seven-furlong handicap at Warwick Farm Racecourse in Sydney on Wednesday.
Trained by Kim Waugh, Bethencourt has not raced since finishing 10th of 15 in a handicap at 1 1/4 miles at Kembla Grange in mid-August. He then had a layoff of slightly less than six months.
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Bethencourt has had two schooling races from the gate, or barrier trials, in recent weeks for his comeback at Warwick Farm. The race is much shorter than his final three starts of 2021, but should be within the range of the 5-year-old gelding. Bethencourt, who races as a stalker, won at 6 and 6 1/2 furlongs in 2020, and was second by 1 3/4 lengths in a handicap at 7 3/4 furlongs last July at Rosehill Gardens.
In reflection, Bethencourt kept good company in some of his second-place finishes last year. On July 31 at Royal Randwick Racecourse in Sydney, Bethencourt finished second to Silent Agenda, who returned to win his next start.
At Warwick Farm, Bethencourt is part of a field of 16. In a reflection of the depth of the race, Overlord was the 5-1 favorite as of Monday, while Bethencourt was 7-1.
Overlord, trained by Chris Waller, beat maidens in a six-furlong race at Gosford on Dec. 31 in his eighth start. Earlier this year, Overlord was last of six in a handicap at 7 1/2 furlongs at Rosehill Gardens on Jan. 8 and a more encouraging second by a head in a seven-furlong handicap at Warwick Farm on Jan. 26.
This handicap is a slight class drop for the 5-year-old mare Score, who recently joined trainer Annabel Neashem’s stable. Score was second by three lengths to Open Minded in a seven-furlong handicap at Caulfield Racecourse on Jan. 8 in her final start for John Sadler.
Open Minded followed that win with a victory in the seven-furlong Barton Stakes at Caulfield on Jan. 26, finishing a half-length in front of Lighthouse, a stakes winner at Kentucky Downs in 2020.
Warwick Farm has an eight-race program beginning at 10:20 p.m. Eastern, or 7:20 p.m. Pacific on Tuesday. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.