Australia: Casterton Cup distance suits Lunatic Fringe

Last July, Lunatic Fringe won a minor handicap at 1 1/4 miles on turf at Casterton Racecourse in Australia.

The race may not have merited significant attention at the time, but the experience will well serve Lunatic Fringe when the 5-year-old New Zealand-bred mare starts in Sunday’s Casterton Cup at 1 1/4 miles.

Distance races have been vital to the success of Lunatic Fringe, who has won 4 of 16 starts but has lost her first two races this year. Lunatic Fringe finished fourth in a one-mile handicap at Sandown on March 30 and fourth in a handicap at 1 1/16 miles at Warrnambool Racecourse on May 4. She closed from off the pace in both races.

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Aside from the win at Casterton last July, Lunatic Fringe has also won at about 1 3/8 miles.

The Casterton Cup, the seventh race on a mixed nine-race program, drew a field of 11. The program begins at 9:50 p.m. Eastern or 6:50 p.m. Pacific on Saturday. Wagering is available through DRFBets.com.

While Lunatic Fringe races from the back of the field, the 5-year-old gelding Clever Man poses a threat as a stalker. A winner of 6 of 34 starts, Clever Man has won two of his last three starts since April 1, both in handicaps at about 1 1/4 miles at Mount Gambier, one of Australia’s smaller venues.

The distance will also suit Trosettee, a 5-year-old gelding who won consecutive handicaps at 1 1/4 miles last September and October, but has finished fourth and fifth in one-mile races this year. Trosettee is a closer.

Earlier on the Casterton program, the 8-year-old gelding Elvision will be favored to win the Two Rivers Steeplechase at 2 3/8 miles, one of four jump races at the start of the program.

A winner of 5 of 40 starts, Elvision was second of eight in a handicap chase at about 2 1/8 miles at Warrnambool on May 4, setting the pace before losing by a half-length.

Elvision is part of a field of eight in the $69,500 Two River Chase.