Australia: Blend slight favorite in one-mile handicap Sunday night

A minor class drop has left the 4-year-old gelding Blend as a slight favorite in a one-mile handicap at Coffs Harbour Racecourse in Australia on Sunday evening in a race with many capable contenders.

As of early Saturday, Blend was the 3-1 favorite in early betting with Gold Merchant, Ocean Flyer, Sagrado, Seething Seb and Too Much Heaven all between 9-2 and 6-1 in a field of 11.

So many leading runners makes for a tricky, but intriguing, contest.

Coffs Harbour has a seven-race program beginning at 11:10 p.m. Eastern or 8:10 p.m. Pacific. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.

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Blend was third in a seven-furlong handicap against a slightly better group of runners at Grafton on April 3, closing from eighth in a field of 12 to miss by 2 1/4 lengths. Trained by Greg Howells, who is based at Grafton, Blend has won 2 of 11 starts, and has been beaten in his last four races.

Blend won a handicap at about six furlongs at Grafton last September in his most recent victory.

Of Blend’s many challengers, Seething Seb is the only runner with a win in his last race. A 4-year-old gelding, Seething Seb ended a three-race losing streak with a win in a one-mile handicap against a higher class of handicap runners at Scone on Monday, and makes a fast turnaround for this race.

A winner of 5 of 28 starts, Seething Seb tends to run as a stalker. Apprentice jockey Madeline Owen rides Seething Seb, who is trained by her mother, Karen. Madeline Owen has been aboard Seething Seb for three of his five career wins.

The distance should work for Too Much Heaven, who has won 2 of 18 starts, but is winless in her last four races. Too Much Heaven will be fitted with blinkers for the first time, which may allow the 4-year-old filly to race slightly closer to the pace than in recent starts.

Too Much Heaven was third by two lengths in a one-mile handicap at Grafton on April 3, closing from eighth in a field of 12 to lose by 2 1/4 lengths.

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