Australia: Buffet Buster hungry to start new winning streak in Beef Week Cup at Inverell
Tiny Inverell Racecourse in the Australian countryside has played a big role in the 2022 success of Buffet Buster.
On March 5, Buffet Buster won a seven-furlong handicap at Inverell to end a four-race losing streak. He followed with two rapid wins in sprint handicaps at Moree on March 15 and Grafton on March 22. The winning streak ended with a fourth-place finish against tougher competition at Tamworth on April 11, leading to a brief rest for the 3-year-old gelding.
On Friday, Buffet Buster is back at Inverell for a start in the Beef Week Cup, a seven-furlong race that drew a competitive field of 14. Considering the versatile style that Buffet Buster showed in March, winning from the front and from a tracking position, a fifth win in his 20th start in possible in the Beef Week Cup.
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Trained by Stirling Osland, Buffet Buster will be ridden by jockey Anthony Cavallo, who had won with 5 of 50 mounts from April 8 through Saturday.
Of the 14 runners in the main body of the field, Buffet Buster is the only horse with a win at Inverell. Our Girl Eve, one of four runners on the also-eligible list, won at Inverell in December.
Buffet Buster was the 6-1 third choice in early betting on Wednesday behind Eiger (7-2) and Smart ‘N’ Sexy (5-1).
Eiger, a winner of 7 of 25 starts, won a seven-furlong handicap for horses based with trainers in the Australian countryside at Scone Racecourse on May 13. The win ended a three-race losing streak. Eiger is similar to Buffet Buster in that the 5-year-old gelding can set the pace or race from a stalking position.
Smart ‘N’ Sexy, a winner of 2 of 11 starts, is taking a significant drop in class after three losses at tracks in Queensland from mid-March to earlier this month. A closer, Smart ‘N’ Sexy won a seven-furlong handicap in her only start at seven furlongs, which came in January 2021 at Eagle Farm Racecourse in Brisbane.
Inverell has an eight-race program beginning at 10:15 p.m. Eastern or 7:15 p.m. Pacific on Thursday. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.